Lord, I want to…for you!!! Really??
“Lord, I want to be used by you…”; “Lord, I want to reach the world for you”; “Use me Lord..”. Does that sound familiar? It should!! That is normally the cry of our hearts somewhere in our journey with God…especially in the beginning. How many of us have uttered the words “I want to be used by you God”? Only to have it fizzle out when we face challenges. So easy to say when we are young and zealous in the Lord. I myself can remember praying similar things and anticipating when I would get the opportunity to tell others about Christ, or lay hands on the sick or travel and preach God’s Word…little did I know….
Last night, once again, I was watching Soul Surfer (by now, you have probably figured out that this is my favorite movie of all time). Before, I would just watch the movie and that was it. Several months ago, I decided to go through the special features on the dvd and discovered a documentary made by Bethany’s
family and friends; it gives you a glimpse into her life and what events led up to the shark attack and how much her life changed after the attack.
Bethany’s parents tell the story about how she got saved at a very young age and how dedicated she was to God. It is interesting to hear her mum describe the weeks before the shark attack, Bethany came to her and said she wanted to be used by God. So, at 13 years of age, Bethany and her mum prayed for two weeks for her to be used by God and to see the fruit of her prayers. Shortly thereafter, Bethany is attacked by the shark and her life changed forever. Here is the interesting thing…she was supposed to go on a missions trip to Mexico with her youth group the week of the attack, but because she got sponsored by a major brand, she decided not to go, but to stay and train for a surfing competition. It is during this very week that she is attacked by the shark.
I am sure while she was in that hospital bed trying to recover, or even weeks after she was released from the hospital, the thought crossed her mind that if she had gone on the missions trip, this would have never happened. I am sure at her lowest moments when she thought she would never surf again and life seemed so difficult, she thought, if I had just gone…True!! If she had gone on the missions trip, she would not have been in the sea at the time that the shark attacked. On the flip side of that, if she had gone, she would not have been attacked and would not have the world as her stage today. At the end of the movie, a reporter asks her if she could go back to that day of the incident, would she take it back. She says with a smile on her face “No, I wouldn’t change what happened to me that day, because I wouldn’t get the opportunity to be in front of all of you and to be able to embrace so many more people with one arm than I ever could with two”. Wow!!! Bethany’s world went from just her, her family and friends in Hawaii to the world. She has been able to travel to many countries, meet many people, do several television shows, write books, etc. while telling people about Jesus Christ and her faith in God that kept her alive.
This is not an isolated incident. There are many evangelist, revivalist, prophets, ministers, etc. that we admire and look up to and wonder how we could be like them. We want an impartation from them, we want to speak like them, we travel wherever they are…all in hopes of one day being able to do what they are doing. I wonder what prayers they prayed and what they had to go through to be where they are today.
Here is another example: John G. Lake was known throughout America as a leading healing evangelist. He had established forty churches throughout the United States and Canada in which there had been so many healings that his congregations nicknamed him “Dr.” Lake. One of the things he is known for is in
January of 1910, he was headed back to Africa in the midst of a raging plague there. He was among few who ministered to the sick and dying. He proved to local physicians that the germs would not live on his body due to the Holy Spirit alive in Him. He actually verified this under a microscope showing that the
germs died upon contact with his body. Those who witnessed the experiment stood in amazement as Lake gave glory to God. John G. Lake didn’t just arrive at this healing anointing, he paid a very dear price for it. According to the website http://www.godsgenerals.com/person_j_lake.htm he waged a serious spiritual battle against the power of death over one of his sisters after losing 8 of his 15 siblings. He was also healed of rheumatoid arthritis in his childhood. While it must have been horrific for him to
experience so many deaths so young, it propelled him into a place of destiny because he decided that he did not want to lose another loved one to illness. In fact, throughout his life, he had to continue to wage this same spiritual battle for his wife and even for himself later on.
The bible is filled with characters that had to endure many hardships in order to fulfill their purpose and destiny: Jesus, Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Joseph, David, Daniel, etc. We wouldn’t be where we are today if they didn’t. We need to take a hint from them…it is never fun to walk through trials, but we can have a
different perspective as we go through them. One, we are never alone; two, Romans 8:28 (NIV) 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose; three, it is all about purpose and destiny and advancing the Kingdom of God
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future; four, trials don’t last always; five, with each new challenge, we grow stronger in our faith, more sure of who we are in God and to God, and, we get to experience a side of God that we would not otherwise.
So the next time you are faced with difficult circumstances or challenges, remember that prayer you prayed sometime during your journey with God “I want to…”. You are being molded and shaped to become a walking, living, breathing example of Christ in the earth. Our mindset should no longer be “Why me God”? We understand that through our trials, we are processed and through this process it helps us
become all that God created us to be.
James 1 (NIV) Trials and Temptations 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
