Not Ability, but Availability
"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols."
- Isaiah 42:8
What kind of person does God seek to use? What qualifications is He looking for in someone? Is it a towering intellect? Is it natural leadership ability? Could God ever use someone who is a bit shy by nature? Does this person have to be very talented or handsome or beautiful?
The answer to all of these questions is clearly no. It seems as though God goes out of His way sometimes to choose the most unexpected people to use.
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If I had to choose one passage of Scripture that I think best summarizes my life as a Christian, it would be 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, where the apostle Paul wrote,
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
There is not a person who had less promise to achieve anything with his life than me. I was literally the last person picked for the team for whatever sport it was. I never was academically strong. I always underwhelmed in most areas of my life. So when the Lord chose me to serve Him, it was very clear that it was His doing-not mine. This is because God will not give His glory to another.
As I have said before, God is not looking for ability as much as availability. Are you available to Him?
