You Might Be More Able Than You Think

As a pastor, people regularly say to me,

       "I could never do what you do." 

       "I could never write a sermon."

       "I could never understand the Bible like that."

At some level, while that could sound like a compliment, in those comments, individuals are actually making a stronger negative statement about themselves than they are offering up a compliment to me.

What they're really saying is, "I can't. I'm not able."

The subtext of what they are saying, the thing just below the surface, is actually an even stronger negative statement about God.

The reality of all ministry is that it's not about the person who’s doing the ministry, it's about God working through the person.

So, when an individual says, "I could never do that," what they are really saying is, "God would never use me like that." They’re essentially saying, "God isn't able to use me like that."

There is a story in the book of 1 Kings where the prophet Elijah confronts a powerful and very evil king in Israel. The nature of the confrontation was Elijah was telling this king that Yahweh was the true God of Israel, not this other foreign god that the king was serving and worshipping.

Part of the confrontation was God telling Elijah to announce a drought over Israel that would last three years. He prayed and the rain stopped.

The other part of the confrontation was a showdown between Elijah and the king as to whose God could send fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice on an altar. In the story, both Elijah and the king call on their respective gods, but only Yahweh, Elijah's God, comes through. The king's god, Baal, does not.

But here's the point. In the New Testament in the book of James, it reads this, 

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (James 5:16b-18)

It says that Elijah was a human just like us. There's no major difference between Elijah and us, apart from his openness to be used by God.

So as we step into this new year, instead of thinking to yourself,

       "I can't…" or,

       "I couldn't…"

Maybe you could ask,

       “What if…"  

"Perhaps I could…"

And then open yourself up to God and see what He might have for you rather than counting yourself out before God even speaks.

You never know what God might do with someone who has an open heart and a willing spirit.