Commissioned

I'm humbled. I'm amazed. I'm strengthened. I'm dependent. I'm encouraged. I'm hopeful. The excitement inside of me is overwhelming at times. The fact that the Almighty chooses to use me is dumbfounding. I am nothing apart from Him, and yet it is HIM who lives in me and enables me to do and be what I could never be on my own. It is in the littlest of victories that I find myself reminded of how powerfully sovereign our good God is and how providential His workings are.

As believers we have been commissioned with a task that is IMPOSSIBLE. We have been told to "make disciples", a feat no human can achieve. And yet, God commands. It is a challenge, at times a daunting reality, and yet there is promise-promise that God DESIRES to use YOU (if you are His child) as the very tool that brings sinners to repentance and faith. And I'll say it again, I'm humbled.

What amazes me even more about this Truth is that HE provides the platforms, the opportunities, the relationships, the words, the grace and the means for it all. He ordains the opportunities, we simply obey.

If I am honest I have to admit I have failed to take many of those opportunities. There have been many times when the Spirit was tugging on my heart to speak Truth to a lost soul and my pride and fear has kept my mouth silent. I've walked away ashamed. And although God doesn't need me to bring someone to Himself, the disobedience in those acts is unexcused.

But then, there are those times when you have been praying for an opportunity, praying for the soul of an unsaved friend, family member, coworker, employer etc., and God opens the door of opportunity and you take it. The Spirit enables you to speak and seeds are planted. Joy overwhelms you, excitement fills your heart, and the result is peace. Although most of the time those conversations don't end with an automatic conversion, there is rest in knowing that the Word was spoken and God is at work and HE has the power to save! Only time will tell if the seeds take root and grow, but trusting a sovereign God brings such satisfaction in the waiting.

There is joy in knowing the Spirit provided you with the strength to obey the commission and take the opportunity. And continued joy and fervent prayer as you trust the providence of His hand. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3: 5-7 which says, "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." We are simply called to be faithful, to go out and speak, to take the sovereign opportunities, and then to trust and pray knowing God is at work.

Be amazed at the commission you have been given fellow believer, it is nothing to take lightly or for granted...it is a gift, a high calling, a true joy to be used as a tool in the Redeemer's hand.


"The Redeemer turns rebels into disciples, fools into humble listeners. He makes cripples walk again. In him we can face life and respond with faith, love, and hope. And as he changes us, he allows us to be a part of what he is doing in the lives of others. As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.” -Paul David Tripp