Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham… obeyed and went, even though he didn’t know where he was going.”
We all want a sense that our lives have purpose and direction, and that we are ultimately ‘useful’ in some way. But what is the difference before God between being useful and useless? Oswald Chambers explains: “The aim of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful, not to win the heathen; he is useful and he does win the heathen, but that is not his aim. His aim is to do the will of his Lord… Notice God’s unutterable waste of saints. According to the judgment of the world, God plants His saints in the most useless places (I think of friends slogging their guts out faithfully in the inner city, or in the Middle East, both with apparently very little tangible fruit over many years). We say, ‘God intends me to be here because I am so useful’. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is.”
Hopefully that is a profoundly liberating reality. God calls us. We either respond or don’t. If we do step out in obedience and faith, God delights in us, and the fruit in essence is irrelevant. It is his responsibility, the ball is in his court. We are doing our part. It doesn’t mean following Jesus is easy. Sometimes the lack of fruit is deeply discouraging, but we plod on faithfully. Joss Billings wrote: “Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there!”
Abraham stepped out in obedience. He didn’t know where he would end up. He teaches us in turn not to focus on ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ but rather ‘How can I give my life to fulfill God’s will?’
Lord God, use me today, in whatever way you choose. Here I am, send me. Amen!
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