Todd Galberth's "Decrease" Devotional Notes: Day 7

I've been reading Todd Galberth's "Decrease" devotional for a week now, and I've learned a lot thus far: How to surrender to God's will, how to make Him a priority, how to develop a relationship with Him that extends into my relationships with others, how to move out of His way, and most recently, how to take Him out of the box. Today the devotional taught me that taking God out of the box allows Him to take me out of the box. Today's section was simply called "Use Me," but the message was profound.

Todd Galberth - "Decrease" devotional / Todd Galberth online store

We know from yesterday's notes that we can't limit how God moves in our lives. By the same token, we can't limit how he has us to move in the lives of others. Since we as Christians are called to be his hands and feet, we often have to go where our earthly hands and feet may not want to go. It's part of the assignment. When we wholeheartedly tell God, "Move however, whenever," He not only shifts our thinking, He expands our gifts beyond our comfort zones to include people and places we never thought we would encounter. Our full surrender, the declaration of "I'm Yours!" (today's "Medicine Music" by Casey J) activates the enlargement of our territories.

We are all, to some extent, aware of the gifts we possess, although we may not be entirely aware of the magnitude or scope of those gifts. Since we serve an immeasurable, unfathomable, indescribable God, we should not be surprised when he exceeds our expectations. We should, of course, walk humbly in following Him, but when we're positioned for overflow as I mentioned yesterday, we should be prepared for our levels of influence to increase and our minds to be blown.

When you try to tell God when and how to move, He'll either take you in a totally different direction than the one you planned, or He'll extend the waiting time on your breakthrough -- or both. Either way, you'll have no choice but to trust Him. Keep the faith! If things aren't looking great for you right now, don't worry. Instead, keep praying, keep praising, and rest on the promise of a "suddenly" God. If you "suddenly" find yourself doing things you never thought possible, don't worry about how it happened. It happened because God rewards those who serve Him faithfully. Those things that come as surprises to you are simply a part of His regularly scheduled programming.

Day 7 takeaway: My gifts are not mine...my life is not mine. I am God's, and He blessed me (and you!) with unique tools to be a blessing to others. Putting limits on where, how, and when He uses me goes beyond just being selfish. Keeping myself in a box is a form of disobedience to God. Somebody's life depends on what I've got! Less of me, more of He.