“Have
Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own
way.
Thou art the Potter, I am the
clay. Mold me and make me after Thy
will;
While I am waiting, yielded and still.”
Those
words were written by missionary Adelaide Pollard after attending a 1902 prayer
meeting. I grew up singing those words in church. That “while I am waiting” part was
frustrating for Adelaide Pollard while she was trying to raise funds to go for
mission work in Africa. That “while I am
waiting” part has been frustrating for me many times when I have had great
visions of what I wanted to do for God.
I have pondered this week how many times God
has been waiting for me. One instance surfaced last week. The specifics are not important, but the gist
of it is this: While on my way to work
one day a few months ago I noticed something about a house that I drive by
every day. On this particular day, God
told me to stop and check on the people who live there.
People
I have never met.
Really,
God? Since God’s voice was not audible,
surely that impression was wrong. Of
course, God has never spoken to me in an audible voice, but I have known He was
speaking to my heart many times. But
this one is really out there, God. They
will think I’m nuts. They will be offended. They are doing all kinds of crazy things in
there … and they have guns … and dogs … and …
So,
being the obedient follower of Christ that I am, I just prayed for whoever was
in that house and kept on driving. I’ve
kept driving and kept praying for months. But, God wouldn’t quit. These gentle nudges kept on day after day
until I finally relented. I prayed
really, really hard and went to the door.
I
came away without gunshot wounds or dog bites.
I also discovered some needs that I could help with, some immediate and
some long-term. I would like to say that
I waited until just the right time to go.
Everything was just right on that particular day. I might not have been welcomed on another
day.
I
think it is more likely that God used me in spite of me. Back in 1998, Christian author Patsy
Clairmont wrote a book entitled, God Uses Cracked Pots. I haven’t read it, but
I remember the title. I am living proof
that if God could only use perfect people, He wouldn’t get much done. I am cracked, flawed, hesitant, and sometimes
flat-out disobedient. But He uses me anyway.
“For
everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.” (Romans
3:23, NLT). But our lives matter so much
to Him that He “… showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)
You’re
cracked, too. But are you available to
God?
This week's Question: How has God used you in spite of you?
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