September
20, 2018
I CON-DU-IT
Judges 6:14, 15 (Message)
14 But God faced him directly: “Go in this
strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”
15 Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look
at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”
Being a part of a
greater thing can be mind boggling when you really step back and look at the impact
of what God is about to do or has invited us to be a part of.
In my mid-twenties my
ex introduced me to infomercial and body building king, Tony Little. When she
would work out and have Tony Little’s videos on I would laugh because of his
trademark saying, “YOU CAN DO IT!” Still today when I see Tony Little whether
it is on a late-night infomercial or the car rental commercial working his ‘Gazelle’
I can’t help but laugh simply because of that statement.
Thinking about this
though brings me back to Gideon and our desire as humans to be a part of a bigger
thing. Too often though we find ourselves disqualified because of one of two
things.
1)
We tend to not see our potential as God sees us
which requires a different and godly perspective OR
2)
We tend to hear something different than what God
is calling us to.
Neither thing is
truly wrong even if they may be off the mark. So how do we accept the challenge
God has called us to and move to that point of how He sees us?
Earlier this morning Tracey
and I were talking about this very thing. We were talking about how humbling it
is when God calls us to be a part of a bigger thing. Both of us want to see God
work through us but neither of us want to be the center of attraction. This
does not mean we want to lose the character of gifts God has put within us. On
the contrary we don’t want to be the focus of the process.
As I thought a little
more about this I could not help but think about how social media is the vise
that attempts to give us false validation and can confuse us from God’s calling
for our lives. God sees us in one way, but we have a hard time hearing or even
having the perspective he has of us. Instead we look at our followers or those who
comment or tweet a post we put up hoping that someone will comment or at least
like what we say. Understand it is tempting to watch that and make that the
validation, but then you realize that there is so much more to life.
As I was planning a
trip to go out west most people told me all about Arizona and how beautiful it
was and what to see but very few mentioned something else that caught my eye; the
state of Utah. What I realized and even still reflect on is just how different
and beautiful the mountains can look from the different angles you look at
them. The same mountains from the Arizona side has more of a cactus and desert motif
as looking at if from the Utah side has the look of a painted landscape. As I drove
around I then began to think of just how different the mountain ranges look
from all the ones I have been to regardless if it were the Alps in Switzerland,
the Rockies of Colorado, the Smokies of Tennessee, the Blue Ridge of the
Carolinas and Virginias or the Appalachians of Pennsylvania. Each have their
own unique characteristics, dirt, vegetation, rocks and colors to them as well
as wildlife. Although they are mountains each one looks different from place to
place and from bottom to looking up verses top looking down.
Just like the
mountains we tend to generalize ourselves to fit in. We want to see ourselves like
the masses and generalize ourselves no different than one would do talking
about the mountains regardless to location. What we don’t understand is the
potential we have and just how unique we look from God’s perspective. He sees
our potential and has called us out to greatness because He has seen us from
many different perspectives.
So, if it is not our
vision that is holding us back from that epic plan that God is calling us to,
it is our hearing that becomes our stumbling block. During my conversation with
Tracey she was explaining to me how she did not want to be looked at being the
leader of her small group as the top person, rather as part of the group. When
I think about it I come back to 1 Corinthians 12 where it talks about the parts
of the body make up the whole and how not one part has a greater function than
another. As she was taking to me she said, “I don’t want to be looked at as the
leader rather as a ‘conduit’ for what God is about to do.” As I was listening
to her though I started to laugh as the first thing that came to my mind was,
you guessed it, Tony Little.
As I thought about
what she was saying I really had to focus on what she said verses what came to
mind. Too often we think God is calling us to one thing yet is He saying
something else?
When she said, “I’m a
conduit for God” I had to question do we hear instead “I’m a CAN DO IT for God?”
Do we think that God’s calling is more about what we do, or do we think God’s
calling is that of God flowing through us? As we focused on the task or are we
focused on the movement of God or in the process?
God when you call us
may we not disqualify ourselves because we do not have the perspective you have
of us and think there is nothing unique about what You have created us to be.
May we not be defined by our surroundings or a singular perspective but allow
us to see what you see from a different vantage point and be able to fulfill Your
calling in the correct way. Likewise, may we hear You correctly. May we hear
the word ‘CONDUIT’ correctly so that it is about what You are doing through us rather
than “CAN DO IT’ which the focus is what we do in our own might. May we not be
focused on the process rather that our eyes are fixed on the promise. In Jesus
name!
