..."1 Option"?
Strange question huh? Not too strange if you keep reading as I hope you will.One thing that the Bible is full of is "Options." With the way people carry on, I wonder how many people know or understand this. I can't help but smile when people (e.g. Ministers, Workers and unfortunately Pastors & Mrs. Pastors) do the work of the Lord as if they are doing God a favour. The truth we must take (deep) to heart is that God has more than 1 option.
The fact that your are being used by God doesn't mean you're His only "Option"... you may just be the first one on God's "shortlist." Let's look at examples of 2 Females & 2 Males in the Bible:
Orpah & Ruth
Ruth 1: 4 - They took wives from the Moabite women; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years;*
Ruth 1: 14 - Again they cried openly. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye; but Ruth embraced her and held on. (MSG)Interestingly, Orpah was the first/elder wife...but she didn't have foresight and ended up foregoing a future prestigious position. As a result of her dedicated, sacrificial service to her Mother-in-Law - whose God she chose, Ruth got the rare privilege to be part of Jesus' lineage (see Ruth 4:16-22). We must realize that serving others is a privilege...
Vashti & Esther
Esther 2:4 - After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect.. **
I know I've written about lessons from Vashti** however, wisdom is profitable to direct. If she managed the situation better, she may not have lost her position. Similarly, as Pastors, Mrs Pastors, Ministers and/or Workers we must ask God for wisdom and do His will. BTW, you cannot say "No" to God and remain in sync with Him and this applies to obeying our Spiritual leaders too; remember my piece on "No Questions"?***
Saul & David
1 Samuel 15: 27 - 28 - 27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed at his priestly robe and a piece tore off. 28 Samuel said, “God has just now torn the kingdom from you, and handed it over to your neighbor, a better man than you are. (MSG)
Another example...Saul had the enviable position of being Israel's first king but lost what he could have passed on to his generations to come because he disregarded the Person who chose and appointed him.
Boat 1 & Boat 2
Luke 5: 1-3 - One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. (NLT, emphasis mine)
Did you notice that Jesus "noticed 2 empty (i.e. able) boats"? (pun intended) So either of the boats could serve His purpose.
The common thread in all these examples I've shared is that God doesn't work with the "Able"; He chooses the "Available" who are also willing and obedient - because that is the only way the individual will not boast about their own abilities but will rather lean on God's abilities.
No matter how talented or gifted you are, there is absolutely nothing you have done or can do without God's ability backing your availability. It's only the water hose that is available to a faucet/tap that can have water flow through it.
So the next time you are tempted to thing that you are doing God a favour, stop and thank God for making and choosing you as His "Option." I chose the title of this post carefully because we are each unique so even if/when we replace an "Option 1," we are " 1 Option" and can be replaced. If you must "boast" - only boast in the Lord as these scriptures tell us:
Jer. 9: 23 - 24 - 23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] abundance; 24 but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.***
1 Corinthians 1: 26 - 31 - 26 Just look at your own calling, believers; not many [of you were considered] wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. 27 But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. 28 God has selected [for His purpose] the insignificant (base) things of the world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, [even] the things that are nothing, so that He might reduce to nothing the things that are, 29 so that no one may [be able to] boast in the presence of God. 30 But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin], 31 so then, as it is written [in Scripture], “He who boasts and glories, let him boast and glory in the Lord.” (AMP)
Bottom-line:
Wherever you are now, never forget that God placed you there and can replace you if you do not place Him in the right place...May we remain not just 1 Option but Option 1. AMEN!
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