It was just a normal, run-of-the-mill type of day. There was nothing particularly interesting of fantastic going on. It was Thursday, so we had homegroup that night. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, homegroup is similar to a Bible study, but it is more than just a Bible study. There is fellowship, accountability, smaller group discussions, and homegroups do not have an end date like some Bible studies. This particular homegroup was going to be different, though. Even as the leader, I had no idea about this, but God certainly did. This just goes to prove who the real leader is, and in every successful homegroup, Bible study, church, or otherwise, God is the leader. Farah was one of the members of the homegroup, and she had recently fractured her spine. She was in a back brace, and by God's grace, still had full use of her legs because her spinal chord was not severed. Near the end of the night, she asked for use to pray for her. The bones in her back were not regrowing. She was not healing. We gathered around her, laid hands on her, and began to pray. We prayed that God would heal her. We asked for healing in the name and Jesus, and proclaimed His power to do so. We left that night, and I honestly do not remember if I continued to pray for Farah or not for the next week. I would hope that I did. During homegroup the following week, Farah let us know what God had done in her after we prayed last week. She had an appointment with her doctor, and the doctor had taken ex-rays of her spine. To his amazement, 2/3 of the bone mass in her back had regrown! God had answered our prayer, and He healed Farah! The final 1/3 regrew, and she was fully healed. I was very happy to see her able to walk around without a back brace after that. Praise our God who lives and allows us the privilege to be used by Him!
Sometimes, we have problems remembering our place as tools in His hands. On Sunday we yell, "Here I am Lord! Send me!" and on Monday we moan, "I don't want to do that!" God has the right to use us as He sees fit to use us. It is only by His mercy that He allows us to even ask to be used, or that He does not immediately smite us dead when we complain about being used in a way we do not want to be used, "Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?" (Romans 9:21). I know the context of this verse shows us that Paul is speaking of those who are saved being used to show God's mercy and those who are condemned being used to show His justice, but cannot one vessel who is being saved be used to glorify God in small, menial tasks for which they are given no recognition by others while another is used for large, grand tasks that only one hidden under a rock would not be aware of? Is either one better than the other? No! Each is used to glorify God, and each one, being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, will receive their due reward from the One who's recognition does matter. So, the janitor and the CEO both glorify God... and remember that "many who are first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:30).
If we are not careful, pride has a nasty habit of sneaking in when we are not aware of it. It is not so easy when God, through us, heals broken or fractured bones in a week to get prideful and think we actually had something to do with it, although that has happened before. It is much easier to fall to pride when we have a conversation with someone, God speaks through us to them on an issue they are struggling with, and then suddenly we think we're awesome counselors because we've given some great advice. We haven't. God used us to glorify Himself, and we go off thinking we've done something great and steal from God the glory due to Him!
"Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!" (Isaiah 10:15).
Today, when God uses you. Give the glory to the One who deserves the glory, and allow yourself to be content in what you are: a tool in the hand of the Master Craftsman.
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