Expecting God To Use You

Not to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we all have a desire for God to use us. We want our lives to count for something, and we want to take part in the growth and expansion of God’s Kingdom. Many of us even pray for this opportunity. But let me ask you something: Are you expecting God to use you when you ask Him to?

I know I’ve been guilty of praying flat prayers, not really expecting or believing God will answer them. Thankfully, His Word offers us encouragement that we can trust God will be faithful to use us if we ask Him to. That’s exactly what today’s key verse is telling us. 

Ephesians 3:20 says three things. First, God can do more than you could ever imagine or even ask Him to do. If you think it, He can do more. If you dream it, He can do even more than that. His power and ability is unlimited. Second, God’s power is at work within you right now. His Holy Spirit is living and active inside of you, whether you’re aware of it or not. And third, God’s glory is what your life should be all about. Even though you’re not perfect, and despite your mistakes and mess-ups, God can still use your life for His glory.

Maybe the failures and setbacks you’ve experienced so far in life are what’s causing you to doubt God’s ability to use you. But let me encourage you. God can and will use even your failure to give you a platform to speak into the lives of other people. So you need to expect God to use even your worst failure for His glory. 

This life is not about shining yourself up to say, “Look at how shiny and perfect my life is, everyone!” But rather, in the midst of your brokenness and despair, you can expect God to use your pain and your struggle to further His Kingdom. 

God can use your pain to bring someone else to faith in Christ, to give someone else hope. So don’t doubt your Heavenly Father. Instead, ask Him to use you, and guess what? He will. But you need to expect Him to come through. You need to plan on Him using you. You need to look for ways and opportunities to glorify Him. And I pray that as you do, you would trust our Risen Lord to give you a life that is fully devoted to Him so that He receives the most glory.