God Will Use You if You Are Available
Scripture — Isaiah 45:5-6 (NRSV)
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Focus
God was able to use the Persian king Cyrus in God’s plans for the world, even though Cyrus did not know God. So, if God was able to use someone who didn’t even know God, how much more will God use you and me if we are available. We mustn’t limit the ways God will use us to contexts we identify as religious. In fact, our workplaces are a major place for God’s activity in and through us. Moreover, we never retire from the kingdom of God. As we get older, we may very well be even more available to God because we have more freedom in the use of our time.
Devotion
Several times throughout Isaiah 45, the Lord claims to be the only true God. There is no other. The false gods of the nations, including the idols people have made with their own hands, cannot compare to the Lord, the creator of all things, the sovereign over all history.
The Lord has the ability to work in history for divine purposes and glory, even raising up Cyrus, a Persian king, to do the will of God. To Cyrus, God says, “I arm you, though you do not know me.” God is not limited to using those who recognize God to do God’s bidding. In the majesty and mystery of divine sovereignty, God even works in and through those who are ignorant of God. Such is the unique greatness of our God!
How much more would God want to use those of us who do know God and are committed to God’s purposes! Whether we’re leading a meeting at work, teaching a class, coaching a soccer team, or driving our grandchildren around town, or talking with friends on the patio after a worship service, God seeks to use us to advance the work of God’s kingdom. When we’re immersed in Scripture and attentive to the Holy Spirit, we’ll be ready to do God’s bidding.
In my work at the De Pree Center over the past nine years, I have talked with many leaders in the marketplace. Some see their workplace as separate from their faith. But, increasingly, Christians in business, education, arts, and government are recognizing their work as a context for God’s own work. They have become available in a new way to the Lord, not only to do new things at work, but also to do ordinary things with excellence for God’s glory. They understand that even as God could use a pagan king for his purposes, so God can act in our supposedly “secular” workplaces. They are eager to glorify God in all they do at work.
In this season of my work at the De Pree Center, I’m focusing more of my effort on helping folks in the “third third” of life be more invested in the work of God’s kingdom. Sometimes we let the cultural narrative of retirement convince us that older adults have little to offer. The biblical narrative emphasizes the opposite. God uses us when we are young and when we are old for God’s own purposes. Thus, even if you’re retired from full-time employment, you’re not retired from the kingdom of God. God will use you if you are available and willing. (You can learn more about the De Pree Center’s third third work here.)
Reflect
When have you been used by God for his purposes? How did this happen?
Are you available to God in all times and places? In your place of work? In your neighborhood? When you’re hanging out with friends?
If you are retired, or getting ready to retire, do you think of retirement as prime time to do the work of God’s kingdom?
What might God want to do through you if you were more available?
Act
Talk with a wise friend or your small group about what it means to be available to God in every context and season of life.
Pray
Gracious God, your ways are truly amazing. You work out your will in this world according to your plans, even using the likes of Cyrus, a man who didn’t even know you.
Yet, in many ways, I am more amazed by the fact that you want to use me, in spite of my limitations, my doubts, my sins. How blessed I am to be called into your service. And how doubly blessed I am to know you because you have made yourself known to me through Christ.
O Lord, may I be available to you today, to do your will. Help me especially to be ready for service in places I don’t think of as “religious.” May I attend to the still, small voice of your Spirit, so that I might do your bidding, for your kingdom and glory. Use me this very day, Lord!
And don’t stop when I retire. In fact, may my time in retirement allow me to be even more available to you. May I never retire from your kingdom and your service. Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Can Someone Else Be in Charge?
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...