Have you ever asked yourself… what are the requirements I need to ‘possess’ in order to be of any use, any value to the Lord? I have – many, many times. Somehow I suspect we all have to have minimum requirements before we can be of any use. That’s my belief… not sure you would find that in scripture. So what do I think are the minimum requirements?
First is belief. Belief in Who Jesus was and is, and what He did and does. That’s the start. So … to Belief in Jesus, we have to believe that He chooses and wants to use us! Do you honestly believe He needs us to accomplish His plans? Do you believe He wants to use you? The evidence is found in Ephesians 2:1-10, but look at verse 10″
“For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].”
It really isn’t we who sets what/where/when of the works, we walk in those the Lord has prepared for us, chosen for us. Unbelievably, He allows us to make the decision about whether we will or won’t walk according to His plan for us. Which leads to the next set of requirements: trust and obey.
There’s an old gospel song that says:
“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey…”
Read Don Moen’s lyrics and you’ll see other ‘things’ we receive when we trust and obey. It starts with ‘trust’ and the response is ‘obey’. Trust is a critical decision we all have to make. Do we trust the Lord with ourselves… Do we trust scripture as the final answer… Do we use our trust as the basis for our actions and obey?
I believe that there are other ‘requirements’ but that these 3 are the most crucial. Without them our thoughts, our words, our actions are full of hesitations, such as – is this from the Lord? Does He really mean He’ll stay with us? Why, when the Lord has proven over and over His faithfulness do we doubt, and hesitate? What is it we are looking at rather than the Lord? What lies are we buying into?
I would like to believe that it is inherent in us to want to be of use, of value. And still, when faced with opportunities to do precisely that do we not immediately accept the call and say ‘send me’? Do we, like Peter who took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm and then began to sink, do we think we’ll sink? Have you ever thought of these times as opportunities to prove our faith? How many times will it take to trust? I don’t believe we are of value until we act on trust and obey.
