The Two Hurdles Of God’s WillÀpẹrẹ

Use me, Lord

Choose to be a participant, not a spectator. Sure, you might fail. But Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots in his NBA career and lost 300 games-26 of those when his coach and team-mates trusted him with the ball to take the last shot. “I’ve failed over and over in my life,” he said. “And that is why I succeed.” Abraham Lincoln saw two businesses fail and lost two legislative races before he was nominated for vice president and lost. But some folks think he made a pretty good president. Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize at age 26—but not until after he’d failed one university entrance exam and been fired from three teaching jobs!¹ As Winston Churchill wisely stated, “Success is never final; failure is never fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”²

Don’t stumble over the “spectator or participant” hurdle. Decide now that when God shows you even the slightest glimmer of His will, you will follow it —believing that His power and strength are more than enough to accomplish His purposes. He is calling you to participate ... to be a part of the action and not just a fan or a spectator. Go on that mission trip. Be the one who places food in the hands of the homeless. Feel that good fear when you verbally share your faith. Say yes to His call.

Two hurdles stand in the way of doing God’s will on the track of your life. But neither is insurmountable. Learn to jump them, because the race of life is a tough one. The fear of what “they” say and the temptation to take to the stands are small obstacles in light of the surpassing power and greatness of God. I don’t want Him to use someone else when He was looking for me. Rich Mullins said once in an interview, “In terms of eternity, those people who did the greatest things for God were the people who weren’t trying to do anything at all. They were just simply being obedient... Those are the people God can use. And I want to be one of them”³

God wants to actively move in this world through us. Through you and me. My hand is up and I’m waving it. I’m done hiding. I’m saying, “Here I am! Pick me!” That’s the true path of life. “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him”.

Notes
1. ”Bio-Sketches: Michael Jordan,” MyGrowthPlan.org. http:// www.mygrowthplan.org/Biographies/ MichaelTordan.html.
2. Winston Churchill, quoted in Clarence Warner, The Promises of God (Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2005), p. 70.
3. “Tribute to Rich Mullins,” 20 The Countdown Magazine, radio broadcast, http:// www.20thecountdownmagazine.com/exclusives.php.

You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.

"