Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that God needs us.
- He needs us to tell people about Jesus.
- He needs us to start a church.
- He needs us to translate Scripture.
- He needs us to be active in our church.
- He needs us to be His vessel to talk to the nations.
You might wonder, “How could these things happen if it weren’t for us?”
And you’re right. God is not going to come down to Earth himself and preach the way of salvation to the crowds. He has already done that through Jesus.
God is not going to create buildings for His children to dwell in and uplift their spirits and souls in His glory.
He could if He wanted to, but that is not His plan.
He gave that job to His children. Those who have repented of their sin, believed in Jesus, and given their lives to God to be in His family.
But sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking we are very important because only we can do God’s work. God needs us to get it accomplished.
But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. God does not need you.
He does not NEED pastors, Christian teachers, evangelists, missionaries, or any other Christian for the world to know about Christ and his salvation.
God has chosen to use us, but don’t forget, He doesn’t need us to be His voice. He has a voice.
It’s loud and clear and cannot be ignored. And, although, He does want to use us for these purposes, do not be fooled.
It is not through our efforts that He is seen and heard.
I Thought God Needed Me
During my senior year of college, I decided to volunteer as the chaplain of my collegian.
It wasn’t anything glamorous, nor did it gain me status amongst my peers. I had felt for a long time that God was calling me to do something for His kingdom someday and I thought this would be good practice.
Once a month I was in charge of writing and presenting a 15-minute Bible devotional to 30-50 women. I was not amazing at speech and writing, nor did I have special skills in these areas.
But I was willing to do anything God asked of me.
Even if that meant being uncomfortable, working hard, and yielding to a life led by God and not myself.
While I was the chaplain, I especially enjoyed feeling God’s leading in what biblical lesson I should teach. I would feel so close to God in those moments of study and prayer.
And although I knew it wasn’t through my power, nor the work I did that hearts were changed (Ps. 19:7), it did still feel like God needed me to reach others.
It was, after all, my voice speaking to them. It was me coming up with the lesson. It was me researching many books, hymns, quotes, and people of faith to create interesting introductions. It was me taking time out of my busy days to help others learn more from the Bible.
What I had to learn was that God didn’t need me at all for the world to hear Him speak.
God Can Use His Voice Through the Supernatural
There are many times in the Bible when God used His angels to do His work and be His voice.
- It was an angel that guarded the Garden of Eden and would not allow anyone to eat the Tree of Life and live forever. (Genesis 3:24)
- The angel Gabriel came and brought Daniel understanding and skill. (Daniel 9:20-23)
- God used the angel Michael to be the protector of those in the Book of Life. (Daniel 12:1)
- Angels were used to talk directly to all the people of Israel or individuals in the Old Testament, such as: Gideon, Samson’s mother, Zechariah, etc…
- God was going to use an angel to destroy Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 24:16)
- An angel appeared to Zacharias and told Him that God was going to give him a son who would do great things for God. (Luke 1:11-20)
- Gabriel told the news to Mary that she would give birth to God’s son. (Luke 1:26-38)
- Angels were used to open prison doors for the disciples.(Acts 5:19-20)
And there are so many other examples within the Bible if we only take the time to look.
There are even times when God used demons, His fallen angels that now belong to Satan, to be used for His work.
- A demon troubled Saul once God left him. (I Samuel 16:14)
- God sent a spirit of ill will to divide two groups of men so they would have their punishment for past sins. (Judges 9:22-23)
- He is saving demons to use in the final days of the world. (Jude 6)
But even then He does not need to use angels and demons.
He has used His booming voice and fire to talk to people.
He has taken on the form of a cloud and fire to lead His people or anoint them with His Spirit.
And although these ways were most prevalent in the Old Testament, they can still be used today if God sees fit. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
If you still believe God needs you, then you are stuck in your finite mind.
Even if no one today personally sees those supernatural events of yonder year, do they even enter your mind as a possibility?
God Can Use His Voice Through Nature
God has used many methods to tell the world of Himself.
One way He speaks to us is through the nature He created.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”
Job 12:7-10
God tells us that His creation will teach us about Him. The sun, the weather, the mountains, everything declares His greatness through their movements and beauty.
They point our thoughts to God. We don’t even have to speak their language, or any words at all, and we can still learn of God.
And they are not just for one culture or region. Every part of the world will talk to every soul that lives, if only they would listen.
Every summer there are people all over the world enjoying the outdoors through hiking, camping, boating, backpacking, etc… Why?
Because people feel serenity and peace in nature. They feel one step closer to something spiritual when they leave the noise and business of the city.
When they just sit and listen.
Many people mistake what they hear. Some believe “mother nature” is the one in control of the animals and weather. Some believe there is energy moving through the earth and creating a balance in life. Many believe that nature is just living as they know how.
But what is the voice of nature?
It is the still, small voice of God and His creatures singing praises to Him.
People look at the stars and say, how beautiful! How did these come to be? They look at the animals living their lives and wonder how they know what to do when no one has taught them.
Everything they do and everything we see points us to our creator, to God.
God Can Use His Voice Through Animals
As we saw in the previous verse, Job 12:7-10, even animals can be used to speak or be used for God. There are several stories in the Bible that God has passed down for generations that show this very thing.
- Balaam’s Donkey
- Daniel in the Lion’s Den
- Paul and the Viper
- Peter and the Coin in the Fish’s Mouth
- Elijah and the Ravens
- Jonah and the Whale
- Elisha and the Bears
I’m sure there are so many more, but each of these stories shows God using the animal for a purpose.
God caused Balaam’s donkey to speak in a human voice, to argue with Balaam so that he might see what God had hidden from his eyes. God allowed the donkey to protect Balaam from the death that awaited him for going against God.
God shut the mouths of the lions so they would not kill and eat Daniel, someone who was going to die for his faith in the true God. This showed King Darius the mighty power God held over even the scariest of beasts, and how little power he actually had.
The deadly viper bit and tried to kill Paul, but he just shook it off and went about his business. The viper showed the Roman soldiers and island natives watching that God was greater than death.
The ravens brought food to Elijah so he wouldn’t starve while in hiding in the wilderness. Hiding because he had proven to Israel that they were serving a false god and that Yahweh was the one true God.
The whale swallowed Jonah because God had led it to. Jonah, who claimed to be God’s prophet, was going against God’s command. The whale gave Jonah the time he needed to repent of his disobedience and to think about what he was asked to do.
The fish swallowed coins so it could show Jesus’ Godship and take care of earthly needs. Peter could pay taxes to the Romans with these coins, but it also solidified in his mind who Jesus was, the Son of God.
The bears were used by God to punish those who mocked God’s messenger. They killed and mauled children that were blaspheming Elisha, but who were really blaspheming God. God does not tolerate sin at any age.
Did the animals have a choice? That depends on how you view the word choice. The animals live for God. They were created by him and they know that.
They listen to His voice. They understand His power. They follow His lead.
And they love Him and follow Him because of that.
God Can Use His Voice Through Objects
God can even use things that cannot speak or are alive to show His voice.
In Luke 19, Jesus was close to his last days on earth. He rode through a city on top of a donkey and was received as a King. Through their own free will, everyone shouted,
“Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”
At that moment they loved Jesus and they showed it with their words and actions. But the Pharisees asked Jesus to disapprove of this and make them stop. But Jesus says the strangest thing in verse 40.
“I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Can you imagine being one of these people watching Jesus ride through the city and suddenly the rocks on the ground started to shout? Shouting and singing praises to the one they recognized as their God.
I would be horrified! I would feel like I somehow landed in Alice’s Wonderland and nothing made sense. It is not a natural occurrence, nor one we will probably ever see but it does show something.
That God can use ANYTHING He wants.
God Allowed Me To Stumble
I wanted to be like God’s nature. I wanted to tell the world of God’s praises and share with them who He was and the deep love He had for each one.
I wanted to be used as God’s voice and I had to work hard to do the best that I could. I worked hard to write and present the devotionals for my collegian members.
One night I struggled while preparing for a devotional. The meeting was the next day so I had to finish something that night.
But I couldn’t feel God’s leading like I normally would.
I thought that I might create a devotional from Matthew 5:14-16. This passage speaks about how we are like a light on the hill and we should not hide our light but show it to the world through our good works. A great passage full of deep meaning and necessary for all Christians to think about.
But I wasn’t fully convinced that this is what God wanted me to talk about.
I just couldn’t figure out the lesson and application. My mind wasn’t flowing with thoughts as it usually would when I felt God’s leading.
Since I was unsure, I decided to look elsewhere in the Bible. I started to look at other verses, thinking maybe this wasn’t the passage God wanted me to do.
The next morning I woke up early, but still nothing. During the first class period, I was still searching. During the second class period, I was extremely stressed and still could not write down even an outline of what to say and teach. I felt stuck. I couldn’t feel God leading me and nothing I could think of sounded right.
The next hour was the collegian meeting.
I had never been filled with so much dread and sorrow as I was walking to that meeting.
Outside the door, I met my college friend and I just began crying. I filled her in on what I was going through. I must have made quite the scene because even a staff member came over and we all prayed together.
Between the hugs and prayers, I calmed down.
But everyone had walked by us to get into the room so they knew something was up with my life. But it was too late to ask. The meeting had started.
Everything that was going on in the meeting meant nothing to me. I absentmindedly listened. I stared forward and tried to keep a poker face so as not to look so pathetic.
Finally, the collegian president looked at me and timidly asked if I was ready.
I Learned God Did Not Need Me
At that point, I knew I had nothing to offer.
No wise sayings, no great verses to help my point, and not even an outline to sound coherent.
I dreaded everything. I dreaded looking like an idiot, sounding like a babbling fool, and being seen as unprepared and lazy.
But this was my responsibility. And although I had nothing, I was going to do my best because when it comes down to it, it’s not about me.
It’s about God.
As I stood in front of all these women staring at me, I turned to my original passage of Matthew 5 and read it to begin. I had no other idea how to start, so why not begin with God’s words first? After I finished I looked around the room and I just started talking.
I had no thoughts. I had no idea what to say. I just began to talk.
I was calm. I had peace.
It was like a huge burden was lifted off of me. I began to feel God’s joy again as I was speaking.
I really don’t even remember what I said. But I could tell that it was God giving me the words to say. It was Him moving my mouth and making the message He wanted them to hear be spoken.
After the meeting, multiple people came and told me how they had felt God working on their hearts and they were so thankful for what I had said. I didn’t know how to respond. I did nothing.
It was not my words that reached them. It was God’s.
Now don’t think it was through my charisma or talents, that I was able to bluff my way through. I am not an amazing speaker. I get nervous and have to practice just like everyone else, even more so than most.
My confidence came from God. My voice to say these words came from God.
It was Him that they heard.
I am not talking about God possessing my body, spirit, and soul or something weird like that.
But He used me, as His vessel, to reach those women.
At this moment, God showed me that He did not need me, but He wanted me.
He wanted me to be the light sitting on a hill, showing these ladies that God is the greatest and most powerful light of all.
He was able to take this poor excuse for a voice and turn it into something heart-changing through Him.
But I had to realize that I was not necessary for this to happen. God could use anything, but He wanted to use me, someone willing to follow His will no matter what.
But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;
Matthew 10:19
God Wants Me And You
Mark 16:15 says that God gives His disciples (that is every Christian on earth) the command to go into the entire world and preach His salvation to everyone.
That is the ultimate plan God has for me. That is the plan He has for you. But it is not through ourselves.
We just have to be willing to go.
Psalm 32:8 says that God is the one who will instruct us and He will teach us the way we should go.
We don’t even have to fret over what to teach or where to go. He already knows and He will show it to us in His time. If you haven’t figured it out yet, then wait. It’s not time yet. But be prepared because He could tell you at the moment you need to move.
If you are coming close to the end of needing to know, don’t worry. If you are at the airport, bag in tow, wondering where God wants you to go, just go. As long as you have heard the call, felt the leading and are listening to His voice, He will lead you in the right way.
God will be with you and help you, even if He decides to do it at the last minute.
All He asks from us is that we trust Him.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust that He knows the future. Trust that He will be there to lead us. Trust that His way is perfect.
But trust is not laziness. We must still take the time to gain skills, increase knowledge and provide for our necessities.
We still have to work. We still have to try and fail and get back up. Trust is where we know we are not doing it alone.
But even if we struggle with knowledge, God still does not need us to be smart. He can still use you.
Even if you are trying so hard to gain a skill and you can’t seem to improve, relax. God is teaching you something or steering you in a different direction.
As long as we are studying God’s Word, not adding our own thoughts and opinions to His verses, and working with Him to change hearts, we will never fail.
God will never leave us behind. He wants to work with you to see souls saved.
God does not need us to be scholars. He needs men and women, teens and children, anyone who is willing to come to Him and be used.
Never Compare Yourself To Others
At times I feel inferior because of the lack of knowledge or experience I have in Biblical things compared to others. I start to think…
“God, wouldn’t you rather use that Christian with three degrees over there?”
“God, wouldn’t you have a much easier time with that amazing speaker with their very popular blog over there?
“God, I have nothing new to say. There is an expert in everything nowadays. Who could I reach that they can’t?”
But in that sweet, small voice, I can almost hear Him say,
“You’re right. They are doing an amazing job for me. But I want to do that with you too. Be patient. You will get there. Be strong. The world will come after you and feed on your inferiority and insecurities. Be wise. Don’t say things unless you pray about it. I will guide you every step of the way, for you are a vessel that I desire to use.”
Like I said in the beginning, I knew that it was through God and not myself that hearts were changed.
I did not realize, however, how little God needed from me.
Not only had this experience shown me the amazing power of God personally, but it also gave me more confidence.
If it is God’s will for me to preach and be where I am, then even when I am scared, lost, unsure, or feeling insecure, I can rest assured.
He is there.
If my inability gets in the way, He will give me strength and the necessary tools to do His calling.
But it is not just a promise for me, He gives it to everyone.
John 15:7 says that if Christ is in us and we abide in him then we can ask whatever we want and it will be done.
If you ask Christ to help you lead others in God’s ways and to be used for His glory, then He will.
He wants to use you, but don’t ever feel that He needs you to be heard.
He will find a way with or without you.
So the question is not so much does God need you, but rather,
Do you want to be used by God?
