Use Me
“Yahwey Jireh”… or more often referred to as “Jehovah Jireh”, translates simply into, “The LORD provides”. At our men’s breakfast at FB Florence yesterday morning, i was reminded once again of the provision of God … how He always provides for His people. We heard personal testimonies of mission trips recently returned from and the work that was accomplished. Sure, you’d hear the brief comments about the good meals that were provided by the gracious members of the church being built…the friendliness and kindness of the local people of the village…the not-so-perfect weather conditions and the occasional ribbing from another brother. But what i kept hearing, more than anything else, was how God took the willingness of a few volunteers and raised a 4,000 + square foot building in less than a week … how they routed muddy water through a filtration system and built a remote village a system of potable water fit for human consumption … all because God provided … the manpower, the materials, the knowledge, the talents, the resources, the willingness and most of all, the “heart”. It reminded me of how God doesn’t need our “ability”… He desires our “availability”. He doesn’t need our money…but by being faithful to His commands, we get to be a part of the things He’s wanting to do, for people all over this ol world…and yeah , it takes money to make it happen…that’s why we tithe…out of obedience unto God. If we would just love God more than anything else, we’d love people. If we love people, we’d wanna help em. If we’d just listen, God will direct us to those He wants helped. It matters not what the “help” is … it could be picking up sticks or garbage in a neighbor’s yard, cuttin their grass, waterin their flowers, collectin their mail while they’re gone, takin em a meal or to the grocery store, helpin a feeble person navigate a tight area, cleaning their house, stacking some firewood, wiping the frost off their windows and mirrors, holding the door for em, lettin em go first, etc; etc; etc.. There’s an unlimited number of things we can do for others… but it all starts with a love for God and a love for people. Jesus said it many many years ago … “You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. And you are to love others as you do yourself.” ( Matthew 22:37-40 ) As is common with so many “Christians”, we’ll say we love Jesus, but we withhold Christ-like love from those around us…and sad to say…many of those somebodies, are our own family members ! We tend to treat em worse than a common acquaintance … a stranger or an enemy ! Believe this … it doesn’t escape the eyes of the LORD ! By neglecting our responsibilities, we’re withholding the love of Christ and what He wants to do for that person / those people. He’s trying to help “them” and mold “you” more into His image ! If we keep leaping off the conveyor belt, we’re gonna wind up missing some parts … and unable to function as planned. God’ll provide the necessary equipment and tools … we just need to submit and make ourselves available. That brother that hollered out, “ Here i am…send me” ( Isaiah 6:8 )…got it. People don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care. Didn’t Jesus tell us, “ When you’ve done it for the least of these, you’ve ( actually ) done it for me.” ( Matthew 25:40 ) ? God will never go against His own nature. God’s never short on provisions . He’s already lined up work for us ( you and me ) to do. He’s just waiting on us to say, “YES”… here i am, use me.”