Day 3

“When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest fi eld’.”  — MATTHEW 9:36-38

There are many ways in which God works out His will and purposes on earth, but the primary way is through His church. He has chosen it to be that way, so we don’t expect Him to work outside His church or apart from it.

I don’t know how you personally may have come to know Christ, except for one thing. There was some human element involved. Perhaps while listening to someone preaching the Gospel, the Holy Spirit convicted you of your need and of the sufficiency of Christ to meet that need. Perhaps you read a book someone had written or the Bible, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and, as a result, you came to know Christ. It may be that in your place of work or study or as you observed a neighbour, you saw a life that was so different that it created an appetite in you to seek for what that person so obviously had, and you discovered it was Christ. Maybe you’ve been at rock bottom and sought God out for yourself and the Spirit led you to someone who explained what Christ could do in your life.

Whatever the cause, somewhere along the line, God used people to speak to you about Himself. I am quite sure that you were not just walking along the road one day when suddenly an angel appeared in front of you, tucked his wings behind his back and said, “Excuse me, I would like to talk to you about Christ.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God chose to work that way? It would be very convincing to say the least.

In fact, God has thousands of angels just waiting for an opportunity to obey Him. In His Sovereignty and wisdom, He is perfectly free to send angels to do His work, and there are times when He does, but His general means of working on earth is through His own body, which is the church, which is people, which is you and me. Christ said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” We don’t need to be special in any way, except in our commitment to Christ. If we’re in Christ, keeping our eyes and ears open to every opportunity the Lord provides, He will use us to express Himself and lead others to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. 

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, I am so grateful You have chosen to speak to me in many different ways. I hear your voice and I long to share the good news of Jesus Christ so that others experience the wonderful peace and fulfillment there is in knowing Him. Help me to be alert to every opportunity You give me. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Has God recently used me to speak to someone about Himself? If so, what were the circumstances and how was it received?