A VESSEL HE CAN USE

Judges 6:16 “The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Gideon wasn’t prepared to take the reigns of commanding an army. He was leading a simple life, existing from day to day as God provided him the means to do so. He just went about his daily routine, plowing, planting and harvesting and never once thought of becoming a deliverer of his people. In his own eyes he was less than nothing. He had no power within himself, no knowledge of warfare and tactics, no education in the use of weaponry, and no ability to lead men into battle. In other words, he was just a common citizen trying to make it the best way he knew how.

But God saw something in Gideon that no one else could see. God saw that Gideon was nothing in his own eyes as well as the eyes of other men. Gideon was the least likely, of all his brethren, since he even said that he was the least among his tribe, the Tribe of Manasseh, and that his family was poor even among that small, poor tribe.

I am reminded of the words of Paul to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."

God’s view of who is useful to his Kingdom is so very different from our own. We look for those who have talent. We look for those who are influential. We look for those who are great speakers and those of high education. We look for those who everyone would call, “beautiful people”, because we think that somehow the fleshly appearance and ability will draw the crowds or bring down the Spirit of God in a special way.

God doesn’t look for what we look for in those that he will use. God looks for a willing vessel, but more than that, God looks for that willing vessel that is broken and powerless without him. We may pray to be more like Jesus. We may whisper that prayer in some fashion that says to God, “Lord make me what you would have me to be. Let there be less of me and my desires so that more of you may be made manifest through me and let your desires become mine.” Every Christian who truly wants a close walk with Jesus will say that prayer again and again.

I like what Tommy Tenney says in his book God’s Eye View, “Less is Better and Nothing is Best.” What he is saying is that God will only use those vessels that are powerless to take any credit for what God wants to do through their lives. God will not share his glory with any man and no man can say that he did anything to accomplish anything for God.

Inside of each of us God has placed his light of the gospel. God’s conviction power breaks our hard heart, crushes and destroys that outer shell of humanity, and makes us into a broken vessel that he can use for his glory. Then, after all the power of the flesh has been broken, his light bursts forth from the inside out so that the entire world can see how that our lives become a bright light in a sin-darkened world.