Everything in life seems to be going great.  You are employed in a job you actually like, God has blessed you with a wonderful spouse, kids and family, you’re involved in your local church and all of a sudden BOOM!  The good times come to an end.  There seems to be wave after wave of problems coming your way.  Problems with your job, family and even in your church etc.  What happened?  You start to examine yourself to see if you have done something wrong.  You say to yourself, I must have sinned.  You search your heart and can’t find any rebellious sin that has caused your discomfort and problems.  Perhaps you buckle down thinking serving God more will bring some relief.  You decide to take on more ministry responsibilities in your church. You try this and other ways to control the situation, but there is no relief.  You look to others for answers but they don’t have any.  Maybe your pastor directs you to some scripture passages to comfort you, but you can’t rest in them and you have no peace.  You feel like the biblical character Job.  You tried all options to escape the pain and none are left.  What do you do next?  Does this some familiar?  Is this happening to you currently, or has this happened to you in the past?

Don’t despair, God actually designed your life circumstances for a specific reason.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.  God loves you and wants to use you by living through you.  God has been trying to use you, but you’re not willing to be used.  You’re too busy doing your stuff.  God has been tapping you on your shoulder time and time again, and you aren’t paying attention or responding.  Finally to get your attention, BOOM!

Many believers when asked if they want to be used by God would say absolutely, of course.  The problem is they go about being used in the wrong way.  Most do what they feel like doing, instead of what God is prompting them to do.  They do out of self effort with no lasting results. Something is blocking their being used.  Brothers and sisters, what’s blocking Christ living through you is this thing called the flesh.  The definition we use at Grace Christian Church for flesh is living out of your own resources.  In other words, depending on yourself to live life.  All believers are in union with Christ.  Christ is in you.

We see this in Colossians 1:27 (NASB) ²⁷ “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”. Christ is in every believer.  When we depend on Christ in us to live life, Christ expresses Himself through us to the world around us.  WOW, isn’t that mind blowing.  The God of the universe loved you so much that He gave you life, by giving you Christ to live in you and to use you, by you letting Christ live through you.  That’s God’s plan for every believer.  Most believers know about their flesh and try not to depend on it, but can’t seem to overcome.  The pull of one’s flesh is too strong.  The reason is we have been programmed to trust in it since our childhood.  Our default mode of living is according to our flesh.   That’s why God gives us the BOOM.  To leave us no option but to TRUST Him in living our lives.    God cuts off all other options but one.  The only option left is to TRUST in Christ who is in you.  Christ is breaking your self dependence.  Your flesh is being broken, so Christ can live through you.  You are being “Broken To Be Used”.

Christ illustrated this by describing Himself as a grain of wheat:

John 12:24 (NASB) ²⁴ “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Christ’s death and resurrection gives life.  Life comes out of death.  A grain of wheat doesn’t germinate in the ground until its outer shell is moistened and breaks, which allows the inner core to grow outwards.  If the outer shell isn’t broken, the grain of wheat will never grow.  It stays a grain of wheat.  The same holds true for all believers.  Unless our outer shell (FLESH) is broken, Christ in us can’t break through.  The BOOM breaks our dependence on our flesh to allow Christ to use us, by living through us.  After the BOOM has completed its purpose, Christ flows through you like water flowing through a facet.  That’s being used.  Don’t despair, greater things are coming.

If you would like to learn more about the concepts discussed here, you can respond to this Blog, or come visit Grace Christian church any Sunday morning, in Freehold New Jersey.  Everyone is welcome to come and experience the Life of Christ.
In Him,
Rob Parlante
Elder / Grace Christian Church