Years ago I heard a pastor preach: “the only ability God needs you to have is avail-ability!”
The website dictionary.com defines the word “avail” as “to be of use or value to; profit; advantage.” In other words, God wants you to just allow yourself to be used by Him! But how do you do that?
Well, a closer examination of the final instructions Jesus gave His disciples right before He left them will give us the answer.
“Jesus came to them and said: ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world’ ” (Matthew 28: 18-20, CEV).
“Foot” Faith
Jesus included a lot of action words in His instructions, didn’t He? Words such as “make disciples,” “baptize,” and “teach”—but I find it interesting that the first action Jesus ordered His disciples to do was not “believe,” but instead that they “go!” He did remind them that He was ultimately in control of everything, but the initial responsibility still rested on them to put feet to their faith.
So what is Jesus asking you to do? Whatever it is, you first need to have faith that Jesus is who He claims to be and that He’s able to do what He says He can do, but then you need to obey and just “go”! God will take care of the rest.
The Old Testament father of the faith, Abraham, had a similar story, but God really tested his faith:
“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan” (Genesis 12: 1-5, NLT).
Don’t miss it: Abraham was 75 years old when God told him to just…go! Can you imagine what that conversation was like that day at the dinner table?
“Please pass the gravy, and by the way, God told me today that we needed to just go!”
“Go where?” his wife must have said.
“Well, I don’t know.”
“How long will the trip be?”
“I don’t know.”
“When will we get there?”
“I don’t know.”
“How will we get there?”
“I don’t know.”
Can you imagine the looks that Abraham’s wife and family were giving him? Abraham must have learned to be strong in his faith even then. We can imagine him trying to lead with the limited information he had.
“The only thing I know is that God told me and I don’t know—but I know God and more importantly: God knows me! So I’m gonna trust Him. Let’s all get a good night’s sleep cause tomorrow we start packing up to leave.”
Abraham simply had simple faith! The longer I live this life the more I realize two things: life is hard, but God is faithful:
“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Hebrews 11: 8-10, NLT).
The Master’s Marching Orders
In Matthew 10, Jesus, aka “The Master” provides His followers more specific instructions, marching orders so-to-speak. These instructions related to telling others about Him, and again, they all start with people “go”-ing. But don’t take my word for it; take a minute and read it for yourself. Although it was written long ago, there are still many relevant principles you could learn.
So, after reading those clear instructions I know that Jesus was talking to you. He was telling you something that either you were doing that you needed to stop doing, or something that you weren’t doing that you needed to start! How do I know that? Because that’s what Jesus does—He shakes things up!
So here’s the bottom line how will you respond to Jesus’ order to share His love with others? Take some time to pray about what and how Jesus wants you to accomplish His mission. Also, take some time to talk with your friends and adults you trust to get their points of view. But after you’ve gotten all the info and are in the know…go!
Additional Resources
God, Our Father
