7 minute read
Nonna’s kNOWledge
by Carolyn Joy
God can use you to change the world.
I do not know how you feel about it, but to me this statement sounds bold, impossible, and beyond my normal comprehension. I find it hard to believe that God would use me at all, never mind to change the world! Do you believe your life can make a difference for the better to the people around you? Do you believe your presence in a church matters? Do you believe you can do something that can change the world?
My guess is that you would say an easy “yes” to the first two questions. “Yes, with God’s help, I can influence those I am closest to with the knowledge of a loving God….Yes, I can serve in my church to teach others about the Lord.”
But do you believe you can change the world? Does that seem too big for you? Do you trust God for the small prayers and then put God in a box for the big prayers? Or perhaps, what is worse, do you limit God and not even think about praying big prayers? With God’s help, you can pray, “I want to be used to change the world.”
In Joshua 1:1-6 (ESV), God tells Joshua that he is going to use him to bring the Israelites into the promised land.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.”
Joshua, the son of Nun—His name in itself does not sound very promising. However, Joshua is known in history as a charismatic warrior who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan after their exodus from Egypt.
The primary lesson to draw from Joshua’s life is that God is faithful to His promises. God promised Abraham that his descendants would dwell in the land, and, under Joshua, God brought the people into the land that He had promised to give to them (Hebrews 4:8-10).
I am sure Joshua did not wake up one day and think, “I am going to be used to change the world.” But with God’s help, he was bold and courageous, and he did.
Professor Orr was a theology professor who, in 1940, took his students on a field trip to see different Christian landmarks. One such landmark was the home of John Wesley, a famed scholar and church reformer. As the students walked around Wesley’s home, they noticed two patches of worn carpet by the side of his bed. It was there that John Westley had kneeled in prayer, day after day, month after month, and year after year.
Later, Professor Orr gathered the students back on the bus and noticed one student was missing. Back in the house, the professor heard a faint voice coming from the bedroom. Kneeling in the very patches of worn carpet where John Westley once prayed, one of his students poured out his heart, “Lord, do it again. Bring revival, do it again.”
After some time, Professor Orr interrupted the student, “I’m sorry but the others are waiting for us on the bus. We have to go now.”
After a minute, Billy Graham rose up from prayer and joined the others on the bus. (History Makers RadioBilly Graham, Godspot)
I am sure Billy Graham did not wake up one day and think, “I am going to be used to change the world.” But with God’s help, he was bold and courageous, and he did.
Unlike the strong faith in the Lord Joshua and Billy Graham possessed, the book of Acts reports that Paul did not believe in Jesus as the one true God. In fact, Paul murdered Christians for their faith. In Acts 9, the Lord blinded Paul to get his attention. In doing so, Paul experienced a change of heart and became one of the greatest men of faith of all time.
“For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight (Acts 9:16-18 ESV).
Sometimes, God bestows faith on us that we need to change the world, and sometimes, He radically gets our attention so we can change the world.
Oh, to be a Joshua or a Billy Graham. I am sure they did not set out to change the world, but they did. Yet, they were no more special than you or me. They did not have anything we do not have the opportunity to claim. They had faith. Faith in God. Faith in hope. Faith that God could use them for His purpose.
Joshua 1:5-6 (ESV) says, Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
What about you? Will you change the world? Do you have the faith to know God can use you in some way, somehow, to bring Him glory? Do you believe God can use you to change the world? That statement may sound bold, impossible, and beyond normal comprehension, but I hope you now believe that it is possible.
Just like Joshua, Billy Graham, and Paul, God can and will use you to change the world if you only allow Him to do so. If He has to, He will do whatever it takes to get your attention. It might be big or it might be small, but it can change the world!
So I challenge you NOW to be bold and courageous with a beyond-normal comprehension and yet very possible prayer, “I want God to use me to change the world.”
Nonna’s Chuckle
Recently, I glanced into my screened-in lanai by the pool and saw a frog desperately trying to jump out. He’d leap and hit the screen face-first. He’d jump, jump, jump, and hit the screen each time. Then, breathing heavily, he’d rest only to try again. Jump, jump, jumping against the screen. Despite my better judgment, I decided to help this poor creature. Not wanting to get too close, I reached for a broom, opened the lanai door, and swatted him on the butt until he hopped out.
Telling the story to my creature-loving 10-year-old granddaughter, I relayed, “After he was free, he looked back at me with his big eyes as if to say Thank you for setting me free.”
Unimpressed, she stared at me stone-faced and said, “I don’t think he was thinking that at all. I think he was saying Did you have to use a broom?
Sometimes, God leads the way, and sometimes, He has to use a broom. Either way, God can use you to change the world!
Carolyn Joy is a Southwest Florida Real Estate Agent, mother of three married children and Nonna to eleven grandchildren. She serves in her church and helps lead a women’s Bible study in her community. She’s the author of two devotional journals, The Overflow of the Heart and Let Your Heart Overflow with Joy, which encourage scripture memorization and writing prayers. Her novel, Out of the Grey Zone, demonstrates God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
