“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 9:13-16
“I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.”
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997) in The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living.
I can’t believe I have not posted this famous quote before. It’s priceless.
As the conference wraps up today, I’m excited that our group will visit an historical site in Durrës, Albania, where many believe the Apostle Paul ministered. More on that tomorrow, including, hopefully, a new header photo.
But already, I am preparing my mind to shift to thinking about the event to launch a task force to form a peer accountability group for Albania tomorrow. Why am I doing this work? Why do you pursue the things God directs you to pursue?
We are little pencils. He’s writing a story through us like He did through Paul. And we must not question God, like Ananias did, but realize that God can use any person as a pencil. And like Paul or Anjezë, we may suffer when God sharpens us.
As I wrap up this Lausanne Ministry Fundraising Network conference today with my colleagues from all over the world, it seems to me with our ethnic diversity, we are like a box of colored pencils.
May each of us (and everyone reading this) allow God to write with us, to sharpen us, and to use us as He wills with surrender, so that what appears is a beautiful and colorful story of God’s redemption, generosity, and love. Amen.