YOU can do something great!

There is something that our pastor (Brad) has been mentioning a lot at church lately and that is many of our biblical heroes were just regular people.  This is a tough concept to grasp for me.  All of my life, I have looked at men like David, Gideon, Nehemiah, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo as extraordinary men of God.  In reality, these men were just as normal as I am before they did something extraordinary. 

David killed Goliath but before that he was tending sheep.  Then he was just taking his brothers lunch when he heard how Goliath was slandering God and Israel.  We know what happened next.  Then he became a great king but he fell into an adulterous affair and committed murder.  God restored him.

Gideon was a normal guy sitting under a tree when the angel of God called him a warrior.  Gideon basically told the angel "you've got the wrong guy, I'm no warrior".  He obeyed God and led Israel to great victories...with 300 men.

Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king.  The cup bearer is the guy who tastes the kings wine to see if it is poisoned.  If it isn't, great.  If it is, well the king will have to find another cup bearer.  Nehemiah was expendable.  He heard that Jerusalem was in disarray and the walls were tore down and he simply stepped up.  He wasn't a leader or a builder but with God's help, he led a great building project.

Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were just young men.  They had never done anything.  All they did was the right thing.  They didn't bow to an idle.  Most importantly, they trusted God.  They told Nebuchadnezzar "Our God will deliver us, but if he doesn't, we still will not bow".  We know how that ended.

And then there is us.  We're just normal people.  We are sitting back waiting on someone else to do something great.  I generally try to put things in the context of sports when I'm trying to explain something.  Think basketball.  Every team has got their leading scorer and then there is the supporting cast.  What happens when the leading scorer is hurt or just isn't performing?  Someone has to step up.  If everyone else just goes through the motions waiting for someone to score, that team will get beat.  They need someone to step up as the go-to player.  Someone has to come out of their shell and shoot the ball even if they are more comfortable passing. 

Are you ready to step up and be God's go-to player?  God is ready to use you for something great, you just have to step up.  When God's angel calls you a warrior, you can't ignore it even though you've never fought a battle.  We must be like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo and just believe God.  God gave them an open door but it was up to them to walk through.  Will you?  God will open a door for you if he hasn't already.  Some of you may be looking through that door right now but you're scared to death to walk through.  Maybe you want to walk through but you are waiting for someone else to walk through first.  Be like Nehemiah.  He didn't wait on someone else to build the walls, he did it.  Remember, he wasn't a builder or a leader.  He stepped WAY out of his comfort zone.  Are you ready?

Tell God you are ready to be his go-to player and see what happens.

God loves you and I do too!