Have you ever felt that way? That you weren’t good enough or knowledgeable, wise enough to speak for Christ? Why should YOU speak for Christ, you say, when the world has so many other brilliant minds speaking with such boldness and immense wisdom?
I have.
I think it happens to everyone at one point or another. Satan is so good at filling our minds with half-truths and lies, that it becomes easy to believe.
Yes, you may not BE Charles Spurgeon, but does that mean that God can’t use you to reach others?
Absolutely NOT!
Today, I wanna tackle this horrific lie from the enemy!
I’m Not As Good as Others to Speak For Christ
Several years ago, around 7 years now, I was studying in-depth Psalm 23. By way of other Pastors I forget, and a video by Ray Vander Laan that really challenged how I thought about the passage.
I was learning so much, that I wrote a blog post about it and all that I had learned.
After I wrote the post, it was so long, like 2 or 3,000 words, and I felt like it was good and I felt so accomplished.
Then, I wanted to learn more about it or I had the idea to look up what Charles Spurgeon said about it, I don’t remember which but when I did, I saw that he wrote something like 16 pages on just that passage (I’ll have to try to find it and link it when I do). 🙂
Whatever it was or how many ever pages it had, it was a TON of a lot of jewels and my mind was spinning from seeing the knowledge and wisdom poured out from that piece.
After a little while, I deleted my blog post.
I felt like, why would anyone read MY post on it when they have Charles Spurgeon and he’s so much wiser and more godly than me.
But there have been so many times, in the past 7 years, that I’ve wanted to re-read my own post. I don’t want to read Spurgeon’s (as good as it is), I want to read what *I* learned from all of it, just to keep it fresh in my head or as it comes up over the years. And I’m so upset with myself, that I deleted it.
I tried to go back and find it, but it was just a draft, moved to trash years ago; no way of finding it.
I regret that I did that SOOOOO much and it’s somewhat haunted me for all these years b/c I know it was such a jewel and if not just for my own sake, I want to read it again. Idk where I learned it all from and can’t retrace my steps to do it again.
It’s such a regret in my life, you see. All b/c, I listened to the voice that said, “You’re not more than Charles Spurgeon. Shut up.”
It was a mistake for me to have deleted my post and I wish I could have made a different decision. Maybe it would never be popular, but at least there could be some who read it and are blessed. I could have re-read it and been blessed to remember.
Oh, how quick we are to forget the things we learn!
What a jewel that could have been for others, for me, and I deleted it.
For a moment, I took my eyes off what God wants ME to do and I compared myself to someone else. And we shouldn’t do that. God uses us to reach the people He’s given US!
Let me explain…
Charles Spurgeon lived and died a great many years ago. Maybe there’s a mom out there who doesn’t know his name or that he’s a fantastic preacher (he was!). But maybe they don’t know that. Maybe they see a free printable of mine on Pinterest and they come to my blog, see Christian posts, read it, and stumble upon the Psalm 23 post.
They read it and are amazed and for a day, it really helps them. They see it with new eyes and it blesses their soul to have found it.
God uses us where He puts us. He made me a blogger in this particular generation to speak to people and those people may not BE in front of Ray Vanderlaan or other amazing teachers. They may just be in front of me. I bring something different to the table. I connect with that mom in a DIFFERENT way BECAUSE I’m a mom. You know what I mean?
Moms connect to moms better. We connect to those who are like us. Maybe God put someone else as a firefighter or a surgeon. God can use anyone where they are, for His glory.
My blog post could have been used to reach many people.
I want you to think of it like this. God created hands and feet and elbows and shoulders, and everything else. When one part of the body isn’t working properly, it affects the whole body. If my liver just suddenly stopped wanting to work today, I’d be in terrible trouble.
And while some parts are more important than others (I can live without a gallbladder for example, but I can’t live without a heart), the parts are all able to be used for me to go about my daily business and in the same way, we all are hands and feet and shoulders for the world.
You in your little corner of the world, at home, in your community, in your church, in your neighborhood, and me in mine.
We shouldn’t worry about what others think or how they are better than us. We should simply share what we have learned and are learning in Christ Jesus.
I’m writing this post to you today because I want to remember it myself the next time I’m tempted to think that my blog posts for Christ don’t matter, or what can *I* teach them type of attitude. I want to remind myself that God called ME, to speak His truth in love and to teach the Word to others.
If I focus on HIM, and what He’s called me to do, and not get hung up in all the details of the why and the how, but rather leave those details to Him to work out, I will be much more successful.
Remember when Jesus told the men to cast their lines out and they were saying they hadn’t caught any fish? They didn’t stand there and argue with Jesus for 20 minutes on how they couldn’t and how they had BEEN doing that all day. They just did it. And what happened? They caught so many fish the boat itself started to sink.
What did Jesus bless?
He blessed their obedience.
Today, can He bless yours? Are we a people who obey the Lord when we are asked to?
The Bible says to think about things that are true. It’s true He can use you. It’s true He WANTS to use you. Don’t trip on your own feet. Just be used. Ask Him to help you focus on Him more. Ask Him to help you not believe the lies of the enemy.
I pray that everyone who reads this will remember that and I pray that everyone who has His full intentions in their heart WILL BE used for His glory in miraculous ways! <3
