by Jeffrey Bush
God can and will use various elements to mold and build you, but below are a few of the common tools He uses:
Your Past
Each person has a unique past, and somewhere along the way it’s likely that negative things have happened to you. For some there is abuse (physical, verbal or sexual), abandonment, lies, or various forms of trauma. Though God is not the author of these horrific events, God does allow things to happen in the lives of each individual. Your past is your past, meaning it cannot be changed no matter how much you dwell on it or despise it. But your past does not have to make you bitter. If you do allow bitterness to settle in, whether against a person, event, or even God, it will end up destroying you (Hebrews 12:15). You have some decisions to make about your past. First, accept it as it is from God whether you understand it or not. And next, allow God to use it to make you stronger and use it to serve and help others. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, it uses the word “comfort” five different times in these two short verses. The abbreviated lesson is that God comforts us so we can comfort others. As you know, you don’t need comfort if you haven’t been hurt. But when you are hurt, God comforts you, and God intends to use that situation so that you can turn around and comfort others. God likely wants to use your difficult past so that you can help others to victoriously overcome their tragic situation. Your past doesn’t have to be your present misery; you can choose to allow God to make you a better suited person to serve others.
Philip 3:13 speaks about “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” You can’t move forward while looking back. If you keep dwelling on the past, you will be obstructed from moving forward. Just as the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror, so you must intentionally stop looking back in order to press forward.
The clearest Biblical example, in my opinion, is the life of Joseph. His brothers were insanely jealous because of Joseph’s dream, so they sold him into slavery. Joseph was sent to Egypt, abused, mistreated, falsely accused, and forgotten multiple times. Yet we see a tremendous insight into his life when he has children. According to Genesis 41:51-52, the name of his two sons were Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh meant “God made me forget” and Ephraim meant “God caused me to be fruitful”. The profound lesson is found in the order. Joseph had to learn to forget before he could be fruitful. The very things that could have caused him to bitterness, anger, deny God, or quit, allowed him to become fruitful. And you as well must forget the hurtful things of your past in order to have a fruitful future. You don’t have to be a victim of your past, you can be a victor!
Your Experience
God is currently providing you opportunities, and you must determine to gain all the experience you can right now. Don’t just do your job where you are, you can learn everything you can where you are and who you are with to be stronger for the next step. Get involved in multiple ministries, learn from others, read books, take notes in preaching, ask questions, and observe others. Don’t let time fly by without learning all you can at the stage where God has you. You get out of life what you put into it, so insert effort, energy, and interest, and you will receive much more than the average person.
Several years ago, I was on a furlough from Argentina visiting the US. I had the opportunity to travel to dozens of churches, so I decided to to make a list of questions that I would ask pastors when I visited their church. Some of the questions were, “What do you believe makes a strong marriage?” “What evangelistic ideas have you seen God use to grow the ministry?” “What best helps you when you are discouraged?” I underestimated how much those questions ended up helping me and the pastors in Argentina.
You cannot live long enough to gain all the experience, but God has placed people around you to teach and help you. Gain personal experience through the opportunities you have and from the people around you.
