By Rick Wood

Pastor, Pursuit Christian Fellowship

This is a common question that roams the minds of many people…wondering if God could possibly use them. We live in a world that is fueled by self-worth; society teaches us to live for ourselves and to value our dignity. I can’t remember a time in life when I’ve heard the words ‘self-esteem’ as much as I do today. But despite the momentum of value and self-worth within society, still a large majority of people have doubt about their ability to be used by God. We subconsciously compare ourselves to those around us, and often find ourselves falling short of being a viable candidate to be used by the Master.

But thankfully, that’s not how God operates. Time and time again throughout scripture we see God using regular men and women to do great things for His glory. One of the examples that is often overlooked is found in John chapter 6 when Jesus feeds the five thousand (actually, it was more than five thousand, the five thousand were just the men). Many of us are familiar with this historical event of Jesus feeding thousands of people with two fish and five small loaves of bread. There are three main characters in the story…Jesus, Philip and Andrew. But there’s another pivotal person who is repeatedly overlooked…it’s the little boy found in verse 9. He only shows up once, there’s no mention of his name and we know nothing about him other than his willingness to give Jesus his lunch. But there’s so much we can learn about God and ourselves through this young boy.

This boy came without fame or fashion, he was simple and speechless, but he was well postured to be used by God. How? Simply because he was willing to give what he had to God…that’s it! As a matter of fact, many people would think it a foolish act to give so little to feed so many. But the young boy didn’t allow the number of people to distract him. He very quietly gave what he had so that it could somehow be used by God. He gave what was meager in quality and meager in quantity, but when Jesus entered the equation, it was multiplied and became something great for His glory.

And that’s no different for you and I. No matter how little we surrender to God, He is able to multiply it and use it for His glory. God is not asking us to give what we don’t have, He is only asking us to give what we do have, no matter how small it may seem. This is not about money, but about anything that we yield to God…talent, time, etc. There were no other prerequisites for this young boy to be used by God other than his willingness to surrender what he had. And one other thing…this young boy was not too ‘small’ to be used by Jesus. Sometimes we feel that because we didn’t grow up in a certain place or because we didn’t graduate from a certain school that we’re disqualified to be used by God. But we can see through this story that’s not the case at all. You may be too big for God to use, but you’re never too small. Jesus is masterful at doing extraordinary things with ordinary people. So if you think that you’re just an ordinary run-of-the-mill person, you’re in the perfect position to be used by God!

So what’s stopping you? Let’s stop making excuses and stop comparing ourselves to everyone else, and take the first step of surrendering what we have to God and trusting Him to do the rest. What is it that you’re willing to surrender to God today? Be blessed!

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