“The Lord said, ‘Whom shall I send?’ I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” -Is. 6:8

What are the requirements for being used by God? What talents do we need to have? What gifting is necessary to be chosen instruments of Christ? Lee Henderson made a composite list of significant people used by God in the Bible.

Joseph
In the Bible Joseph becomes the Pharaoh’s right hand man. Joseph can interpret dreams and he saves Egypt from a famine. Before Joseph was used by God in Egypt, he spent time as a slave and also spent time in prison.

Moses
If you were a shepherd and your daily work consisted of leading sheep around, you’d probably be shocked if God not only talked to directly to you and revealed himself to you but also told you that you were going to lead his people to the promised land.

Gideon
God used Gideon to deliver Israel from Midian but before that Gideon was nothing more than a farmer.

Jephthah
Jephthah is used by God to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. Before that Jephthah was only known as being the son of a prostitute.

David
Like Moses, David was also a shepherd but David was just a boy when he defeated Goliath and he would eventually become king of Israel.

Esther
Like Joseph, Esther was a slave before God used her to save her people from being massacred.

Mary
Who did God choose to be the mother of Jesus? A famous actress? A celebrity? A great athlete? A famous politician? No, the mother of Jesus was a peasant girl.

Matthew
Matthew was one of the 12 disciples and wrote one of the Gospels that told about the life of Jesus. But before Jesus asked Matthew to join him he was just a tax collector.

Luke
Luke traveled with Paul giving him a companion to journey with and Luke would also write one of the four Gospels. But Luke was nothing more than a physician.

Peter
Many of the disciples were just common fisherman and would go on to do God’s work. Peter is the best example as he would be an apostle, a leader of the early church and he would write two letters in the New Testament.

I’m not sure how long your resume is these days. But all God requires of us is to be willing and available. As Leroy Eims used to say, “Don’t pray ‘God use me,’ pray instead, ‘God make me useable.’” The common link of humility in the above list reflects His desire to use those with contrite hearts. Through prayer, simply ask God to use you, and He will. What an honor to be a commoner used by the Lord.