We love David: the shepherd boy who became king. David was the giant slayer. He was the singer, songwriter and poet of Scripture. He was the man after God’s own heart. He wasn’t perfect by any measurement. Sin was included in his history. He had a dysfunctional family, too.
Because David is such a hero in Scripture we forget how ordinary he was. When we first meet him he is tending his father’s sheep. His first assignment was to carry the king’s armor; his second was to play music to comfort the spiritually tormented king Saul. He would not even have known about the Philistine champion named Goliath, except he went to check on his brothers.
The one thing David had going for him was his heart for God. The only reason he was willing to get into the fight with Goliath was because his God was being disgraced. The only experience he had was in protecting sheep from lions and bears, but that was more than enough.
Our disgraced God
Today God is being disgraced. The God of the Bible is being compared to the gods of mythology. His church is weak. Christianity is placed on the shelf next to all the man-made religious systems. Worse yet, it seems the people of God have a sense that spiritual transformation is impossible. Could it be that the God of the impossible is waiting for an ordinary person with a heart for Him to show up? Could we be limiting God?
Scripture states very plainly that nothing is impossible for God. In creation, God didn’t break a sweat. At the Red Sea, God didn’t get wet. When He sent the children of Israel to Jericho, He already knew the outcome. When God connected Jonah and the big fish, He didn’t need a lure. God wasn’t pacing trying to figure out how to pull off the virgin birth.
We could consider time standing still, shadows moving backward, healings, plagues, war victories, and many other events that fill the pages of Scripture, however; we get the point. There are some who struggle to believe the miracles recorded in Scripture, when in fact, none of them even presented God with a challenge!
Since the beginning of time, God was never faced with a desire to accomplish something physical or spiritual for mankind that required a second thought. What we deem a miracle is ordinary to God.
Even the greatest obstacle God faced, the sin of humanity, was met by the perfect plan of Holy God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.” Again, nothing is impossible for God.
There is in fact only one thing that challenges God, and that, my friend, is man. You see, for every miracle recorded in Scripture God chose to use, or at least involve, a human agent. God, in His infinite wisdom, chooses to limit Himself by the availability of men and women who are willing and faithful to be used of God.
A fresh encounter with God
As we look at our society today, human behavior testifies that we need a fresh encounter with God. Some say we need revival; others seek a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit. Multitudes are praying for a miracle. Call it what you may; the only hope for today is the same as the only hope for times past: the manifest Presence of God. Doesn’t God know that? Don’t we know that God desires to be a part of our human existence even more than we do? Then what is He waiting for?
Could it be that God is waiting for people, or even a person, to reengage with Him so that He will engage society? Could it be that God is seeking people that not only have a heart for Him, but a people willing to avail themselves to Him?
Every Sunday in the Missouri Baptist Convention there are more people in church than were part of the first century kingdom of God worldwide. Why is it that God could use these early Christians to influence the world, while our society seems to be influencing the Church? Could we be limiting God?
As you read this article, how far are you willing to go to make yourself available to God, to be an instrument that God can use to reengage with our families, our churches, our communities, our state, our nation, our world?
Several personalities in Scripture were not willing or prepared to be used of God. Some were failures, outcasts, murderers, prostitutes – and there were some who were too religious even for God.
The testimony of Scripture reveals that our God is the great, the awesome God who works through people. When people are willing to humble themselves before Him, nothing is impossible. What is God waiting for – or better yet, for whom is He waiting?
