Let my life be the proof of your love...
There are three truths I’d like to share with you.
1.
God loves you. Romans 5.8-11.
2.
God has a plan for
your life. Jeremiah 29.10-14.
3.
God will use you to
change the world.
Early in recovery, the reaction to this third truth is
either one of: “YES!!! Look out
world! Here I come!” They get the t-shirts and put the bumper
stickers on their cars and are “serving the Lord” every waking moment of their
lives.
I can’t count the number of individuals who completed 30
days of rehab and “just knew God was calling them to become a substance abuse
counselor” to help others. We’ve
probably all experienced them. They make comments like, “I’m just on fire for
the Lord.” and “If I can just help one person not make the mistakes I
made.” They serve with such zeal it
makes those around them think they’ve lost any sense of reality. Then, less than a year later, they are back
using again or are on a different path in life.
The second typical response is the exact opposite. Many in the early stages of recovery make
comments like: “Well, I don’t see how
God can use me. I’m a nothing. I don’t have any particular talents or abilities
that God could use.”
Biblical counsel for both responses is given in
Scripture.
Ephesians 4.7 &16. God has given each one of us a “special gift” (v.7) to be used to build
up the body of Christ “as each part does
its own special work” (v.16).
The reason the “overzealous” become complacent is that they
are not using the special gift the
Spirit has given them. I’m not saying
you should “sit and wait” because you’re not sure what your giftedness is. Part of the discovery process of determining
your giftedness is experiential. I am
saying that individuals should not try to do everything because of some emotional high they’re on!
And, too, God can and will empower you to do things on a
short term basis that lie beyond your giftedness.
I am not designed in any way to have a relationship with
anyone of junior high age. I had a hard
time being around my own daughter when she was in junior high! Regardless of my “lack of ability,” God
empowered and used me to create a junior high ministry in South Dakota. We all grew close together and to this day,
we still call ourselves “The Dirty Dozen.”
Romans 12.3-8 verse 6 - “God has given us different
gifts for doing certain things well.” Everyone
seems to want the “high profile” gifts.
The gift of “kindness” is usually a
behind-the-scenes-out-of-the-spotlight gift.
Yet, Scripture states it is God-given gift. (v. 8c)
Look closely at verse 8.
“If your gift is to encourage
others, be encouraging.” Who could
better encourage a person in the bondage of addiction than someone who has been
there and has experienced the freedom found in Christ? A couple words of encouragement could make
the difference between life and death for someone.
If you know of someone in bondage, invite
them to Remedy where they will be offered hope, healing and freedom in Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul resolves the argument the Corinthians
were having about which gift was the “more spiritual.” I would summarize chapter 12 by stating: All gifts are significant and useful to
advance the Kingdom of God. And, as
Paul states in verse 22, the “parts of the body that seem weakest and least
important are actually the most necessary.”
If your gift is a behind-the-scenes-out-of-the-spotlight gift, use it to
the glory of God knowing all gifts are significant – even if you don’t appear
on the “highlight video” in church!
Some individuals have had their hearts so battered by their
addiction they still have a badly distorted self-image and really can’t see any
way that God could use them to change the world. They have such a low self-esteem that when
God summons them to do their “special work” to build up the body, they
immediately start to rationalize why God can’t use them.
Despite their initial reluctance and rationalization, when
these “world changers” became obedient to God, they did their “special work”
and their world – history – changed.
One of the most frightening moments of my life was when God
called me into full-time ministry. There
were lots of reasons I could think of that I should say “NO!” to God. I had just gotten married. I owned a townhouse. I owned my own business. I loved the community I was living in. I was NOT qualified. I had not read the Bible from cover to cover
yet. I didn’t know how to properly
interpret or apply the teachings of Scripture.
When I surrendered to Jesus and became obedient to His calling on my
life, He blessed me beyond measure. Not
with “things of this world,” but with the blessing of seeing HIM change lives,
restore families, and heal addicts.
However God has gifted you; whatever God has called you to,
it’s going to be bigger than you are. If
you could do it on your own, then you wouldn’t need God.
What will God summon you to?
I don’t know.
How has God gifted you?
I don’t know.
This I do know: God
can and will use each and every one of us to “change our world.”
Determine which gift [gifts] you have been
given.
Respond when summoned.
Use your giftedness to change your world
–
one heart, one hug, one day at a time.
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