The Willing Heart God Uses
God uses the surrendered vessel, not the polished one. You are His envelope, ready to be sent.
Devotional Credit
Source: eManna: Aspiring to Be for God
Photo Credit
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Today’s devotional from Witness Lee calls us to awaken to God’s heart: His desire to reach others is often hindered not by His power or willingness, but by our own unavailability. Isaiah 6:8 presents the piercing question, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” The implication isn’t that God lacks resources—but that He seeks yielded hearts. He looks for those who will live not for personal ease or vainglory, but for His purposes in a world still in need of salvation.
The writer shares that many believers are preoccupied—some with ambition, some with comfort, some with their families. Though these are not wrong in themselves, they can so easily dull our sensitivity to the heartbeat of God for the world. The call here isn’t legalistic but relational: the Lord wants to gain us so He can use us. He doesn’t use the strong, the polished, or the successful—He uses the willing.
The example of Moses is powerful. His aspiration to stand for God's people began decades before his official call. Though it would be forty years before God used him, his willingness at age forty was remembered by God. Likewise, Hannah’s desire that her son would be wholly for the Lord prepared the way for Samuel to become a man used by God for a generation. These examples show us that God values and remembers the quiet aspirations of our hearts, even when we feel unqualified or unseen.
God treasures a heart that says, “Lord, I am Yours. Use me as You will.” He delights in aspirations birthed in the secret places—longings to live for His kingdom rather than our own comfort. He is not limited by our weakness, only by our unwillingness. And so He waits—not because He is slow, but because He is seeking vessels willing to trust Him, vessels who have surrendered to His ownership whether in life or in death.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You belong to Me. Whether you live or whether you die, you are Mine. I have written your name in My book, not with ink but with the blood of My Son. I do not take you lightly. I do not pass by your quiet longings, your whispered prayers, your early hopes to be used for My glory. Like Moses, I saw you before the wilderness. I saw your desire before your delay. I never forgot.
When you present your body to Me, I receive it—not as a burnt offering, but as a living one. I count it holy because I have made you holy. I call it pleasing because My Son lives in you. What you offer, I empower. What you yield, I fill.
Do not imagine that your occupation with lesser things disqualifies you. I call you now. Present yourself to Me again. Not with striving. Not to prove your worth. But simply to say, Here I am, Lord. I treasure that simple offering more than the world’s applause. And I will not forget it. I will bring fruit from it in due time.
You live to the Lord. Even in death, you are Mine. So what keeps you from saying yes today? I have not asked for perfection, only availability. I have not demanded strength, only surrender. I will do My work, but I long to do it through you.
Scripture References
Romans 12:1; Romans 14:8; Isaiah 6:8; Exodus 2:11–25; Exodus 3:1–12; 1 Samuel 1:10–11; 1 Samuel 3:1–10; Philippians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; John 15:16; 2 Timothy 2:21; 2 Corinthians 4:7–11
Real-Life Analogy
Picture an empty envelope, sealed and addressed, waiting on the counter. It has no words of its own, no agenda, no decorations—just a name on the front and a stamp that grants it access. The postman doesn’t care how elaborate the envelope looks—he just wants to deliver it. All that matters is that it’s been entrusted to him, ready and willing to go.
You are like that envelope. The message inside is not your own—it’s God’s. What matters is not your eloquence, your résumé, or your plans, but your willingness to be sent. Today, yield to Him in the small things: a conversation, a listening ear, a gesture of kindness. Whisper in your heart, Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me today, and He will carry you exactly where you're meant to go.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for already counting me as Yours—completely, forever. I rest in the truth that whether I live or die, I belong to You. I rejoice that You remember the desires I once had to serve You, even if I lost sight of them along the way. You never forgot.
Today, I trust You to bring fruit from every aspiration You’ve planted in me. You’ve made me a living sacrifice, set apart and pleasing because of Christ in me. I’m not asking to be used—I believe You already are using me. So I simply say yes again. Thank You for the peace of knowing that You will accomplish Your work through me as I trust and yield to You.