When I was a young boy I can remember thinking that I could run faster than anyone else and that I was better than anyone else in any sport. Sometimes, while visiting a friend, we would wait until a car would pass then throw the football and run to see who could catch it. We thought the people in the car would be so impressed with how far we could throw and how fast we could run. While that sounds pretty pathetic, I think it shows a desire that is in each of us, that makes us want to do something great and that really makes a difference. Many young boys and girls dream of being a profesional athlete and having people ask for their autograph. While we know that a desire to be great in this world never satisfies, a desire to do something great for God and having Him use us is one of the greatest things ever. This is what first motivated me to be in the ministry, a desire to do something great for God. So if there is within me and you a desire to be used of God, how can we be that person that He uses? Here are a few things that can help.
Be Teachable:
I heard it said one time that being teachable means being willing to relearn something that you think you already know. That can be a hard thing because if we supposedly already know something then we want to be the one teaching someone else, not being taught again. This is the key though to becoming a better person in general and getting better at what we do because the day we stop learning and getting better is the day we cease to be productive for the Lord. I believe that we can learn from anyone and from any situation, even the bad ones, because we can learn what not to do and how not to make the same mistakes. These things can also help us grow as a person in our maturity and integrity. So be willing to listen, ask questions and take into consideration what others have to say.
Be Correctable:
The second thing, that goes along with the previous point, is that you have to be willing to recognize your faults and weaknesses and change them. I think one of the hardest things to accept as a person is correction, because we don’t like to recognize that we are wrong. Often we don’t even reflect on our lives to see if there is something that we need to change. The key though, to growing and changing is having someone in our lives that can help us and encourage us. Then when they bring to our attention something that needs to be corrected, we need to be willing to seek help, and make the necessary changes. The Bible, in Hebrews 10:24, shows us this very thing, that we should be provoking each other to love and good works and when someone is motivating us, we should respond.
Be Flexible:
The last thing is that we need, is to be flexible. When something is flexible, it can be stretched beyond it’s normal limits and then return. If we are going to be flexible, we must be willing to be stretched beyond our comfort zone because the only way that we will ever become a person that God can use is if we are willing to take on new challenges that force us to grow. I can remember years ago when I was working for my family in sheet metal, that I had to take on a much bigger responsibility and be in charge of the work for a whole company on my own. At the time I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to handle it or even have a nervous breakdown, but if I compare that to what I do now in the ministry, the job I did then seems like a piece of cake. The point is, that what seems like the hardest thing you have to do now, is preparing you for something much greater in the future. So we have to be willing to step out and trust the Lord that He will help us do what He has called us to do.
So do you have that desire to do something great for the honor and glory of the Lord? Would you like to be a person that God can use? Then be a person that is teachable, correctible and flexible because I truly believe that the Lord is looking for people to show His glory through. You just might be that person.