One of the surest ways that I have found over the years to determine if someone desires to be useful is they ask if they can help you in any way.
“Do you need a hand?” “Is there anything I can do for you, anything I can do to help you out in anyway?”
And they mean it.
Is that the type of question that you have ever asked of the Lord?
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16)
I wonder, did those men that day when our Savior said that to them, go out into the land with excitement and anticipation, or with a form of nervous anxiety, for it was the first time they were going about the Lord’s work, as it were, without Him. No Holy Spirit indwelling them, no instructions but the most basic ones, just get up with what you have with you right now and go.
It is still a question that I am contemplating, since the Almighty is just that, Almighty. Why ever consider using us in any way for that which He can most easily do Himself without us? And the question that arises with that is this, will He use those who do not desire to be useful?
Or are we to presume that every person who honestly has been born again has within them a fervent desire to be just that, useful in some way towards the glory of God?
If that is true my friends, then I have met over the decades many people who fulfill this verse.
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matt. 15:8)
Useful to these may be in their minds simply not forsaking the assembling of themselves together, making sure that they get to church on time, performing the proper and expected greetings, as well as the proper rituals and traditions while they are there. And while they may live a “good life” while away from the assembly, rarely, if ever, are they seeking the face of God by asking Him to use them more fully for His glory.
“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” (Acts 8:20)
Wanting many times only for the benefit of their own lives, and I doubt many of them would even recognize that truth within themselves.
I am reminded once again of Jonah, who most definitely did not want to be useful in the manner that the Lord called him to be, and if I knew why, after that big fish spit him out on the shore, he finally decided to do as he was called to do, instead of just walking down the shoreline away from town, I could tell you what causes a person to be desirous to be used by the Most High for His glory, apart from anything or anyone else in their life.
If you honestly desire to be useful to the Lord, as much as any of us actually can be, then this verse is a good place to start.
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jer. 33:3)
That verse is not for those who just sit in the pews once a week then go back into the world to attend to their own business for the remainder of the week.
If you can understand this truth, you do not have to be “filled with the Spirit” to be useful to the Lord.
If you love Him, you will want to be.
And you will not just sit around waiting for Him to show you the way, you will ask Him, “How can I be useful to you today?”
