You’ve heard it a zillion times in Bible studies, school assemblies, youth group, from your parents and even here in this magazine: You can make a difference!

And I’ve heard a zillion times your responses:

“No, I can’t.”

“But I’m just one person.”

“I don’t have the right gifts or abilities.”

“Someone else could do it better than me.”

What Kind of Person Does God Call?
If God directs you to do something, He’ll equip you with everything you need not only to do what He asks—but also to do it really well!

Remember Moses, from the Old Testament? God called Moses to lead the children of Israel (God’s chosen people) from out of Pharaoh’s control. I like to refer to the children of Israel as “the world’s largest backpacking group,” because there were approximately 2.5 million of them. The Bible tells us there were 600 males between the ages of 20 and 60. So if you do the math with the children and wives, you’ll agree with most Bible scholars that there were around 2.5 million.

That’s one whopping backpacking group! And they trudged out of Egypt and through the desert for 40 years. Wow. Imagine yourself leaving today on a road trip and finally reaching your destination 40 years later! Think of all the changes. Some of you could be grandparents by then.

Like Moses, I’m Wandering ...
But I digress. Back to Moses. When God called him to be the leader of this group, Moses had all kinds of excuses: “I’m not good enough.
My brother Aaron is a great leader; use him instead. I stutter. No one will listen to me. Basically ... I don’t wanna.”

And Moses was right. He was an unlikely candidate. It’s really hard to understand a stutterer—especially with no microphone. But Moses was overlooking a reallyreallyreally important point: God doesn’t choose us on our ability. What we lack, He makes up for!

God’s strength shows up best in weak people. Need proof? Check out what God told the apostle Paul: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9b, New Living Translation).

God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. So what kind of person does God choose? Not the one with all the ability. God chooses the one with all the availability.

Did you get that?

Seriously. Did you really get that?

It doesn’t matter if you have ability. What does matter is your AVAILABILITY.

If you truly wrap your life around that truth, it’ll change everything for you!

You’ll never again say, “I’m not good enough. Not smart enough. Someone else would do better. I’m afraid I’ll fail.”

If God directs you to do something, He’ll equip you with everything you need not only to do what He asks—but also to do it really well! (Yes, I realize I already said that at the beginning of this article, but it needs to be repeated.)

So this whole thing about making a difference has nothing to do with your ability. Or your looks. Or popularity. Or talent. Or confidence. It has everything to do with obedience. It’s an issue of doing what God directs you to do without making excuses, because you believe He’ll give you what you need to do it!

Meet a Guy With a Really Weird Name
Ever heard of Shamgar? He’s an actual person ... but we have to ask, “What in the world were his parents thinking? Were names like John, Matt, Josh, Mark just too easy?” Shamgar. Seriously?

We have to travel back in time to meet this guy. And even though he had a weird name, he was an amazing guy. Yes, really. You would have been attracted to him if he’d been a student on your campus.

We meet him at the bottom of the third chapter of Judges (Old Testament). Shamgar only gets two lines, but wow! Check out the two sentences that describe this guy:

“The next judge after Ehud was Shamgar (son of Anath). He once killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, thereby saving Israel from disaster” (Judges 3:31, The Living Bible).

OK. So we know he was a judge. (Before kings, God used judges to rule. Pretty important position.) And we know his dad was Anath (though we don’t know anything about Anath from this passage.) And we know that Shamgar killed 600 Philistines. (They were the bad guys. Remember Goliath—the giant that David killed? He was a Philistine.)

And we know that Shamgar killed 600 bad guys with an ox goad. Huh? An ox goad is like a cattle prod. It’s a stick used to keep the animals in line and keep them moving in a straight direction.

We also know that Shamgar saved the nation of Israel from disaster.
WOW!

Amazing. Incredible. Magnificent. Unbelievable. Tremendous. (Any positive adjective will work here. Toss in a few of your own.)

But Wait ... I Have a Few Questions
What would you think if I just ended the story right here? You’d probably email me and ask me what happened next, wouldn’t you? But guess what! This really is the ending. I mean, that’s it. We’re not told anything else about Shamgar. Weird, huh?

What he did was amazing. And he only gets two sentences? I know you want to ask:
“But how do you kill even one bad guy with a stick—let alone 600?”
“What did Shamgar do for a living?”
“How come we don’t get more details?”
“Where can I get an ox goad?”

I can’t wait until I get to heaven! I’m going to find Shamgar and ask him the same questions that you have. But meanwhile, we can learn some valuable stuff from this guy.

Think About It
Though we don’t know what Shamgar did for a living, we do know he was a judge in his spare time. So from this fact, we know he was reliable. Trustworthy. A hard worker.

The Philistines were God’s enemies. They cursed Him, rejected Him, opposed Him and fought anyone who worshiped Him. Shamgar was an ordinary man who responded to an extraordinary threat from one of God’s enemies.

He was ready when God needed him. He may not have had much ability (we’re not told that he had any gifts or special skills), but we do know he was available when God needed someone. Maybe he was short and squatty. Perhaps he didn’t have any front teeth. Or maybe he had a weird habit of rhyming every sixth word he spoke. Who knows? He had a weird name, so he could’ve had some quirks. But none of that mattered. God wasn’t looking for someone who was perfect. He wanted to make His perfection known through an ordinary person.

Again: What kind of person does God call? Not the one with all the ability; always the one with all the availability!

The Philistines threatened God and His people. Shamgar didn’t wait for a spiritual leader to react to the Philistines. He became that leader!
God sent His Spirit to search out someone who would respond to this particular need. And He found that man in Shamgar. God called, and Shamgar obeyed. No excuses. No delays. Just sheer obedience.

Seriously? Just a STICK?
And in a day with no high-tech ammunition such as missiles, nuclear warfare or even guns and pistols, Shamgar used what he had: A STICK.

I wonder ... if I would’ve heard the threats of the Philistines ... if I heard them cursing my God ... would I have looked around and said,
“Hey! Someone needs to respond to this! Where are the warriors? Where are the preachers? Any theologians here? Can I have a volunteer, please?”

Again, Shamgar didn’t wait for a spiritual leader to react to the Philistines. He became that leader!

And I wonder ... would I have made excuses ... “I don’t have anything to work with here. I need a cannon or something. I mean, God, all I have is this stick. Can You at least give me some water balloons? Or a paint gun? Those can sting! But ... a stick?”
Shamgar used what he had.

I have no idea how you kill 600 bad guys with a stick. But I do know that if God issues the call, He’ll supply everything you need. And apparently all Shamgar needed was a stick.

Someone Else Had a Stick
Shamgar isn’t the only guy in the Bible with a stick. Back to Moses. Remember when he was making all kinds of excuses to God as to why he shouldn’t be the leader of the world’s largest backpacking group?

Moses didn’t have a lot of talent, but he did have a stick. This was his walking stick. And it felt good in his hands. Secure. Comfortable. Worn and filled with grooves in all the right places for his grip. It gave him sure footing when climbing, walking ... and eventually wandering for 40 years through a desert.

God asked Moses what he had.

“What’s that in your hand, Moses?”

“Nothing.” He had become so comfortable with his walking stick, he didn’t even feel it anymore. (You know—like when you’re wearing a cap or a ring or flip-flops that are a perfect fit? You forget you have them on.)

“In your hand, Moses. What’s in your hand?”

“Oh. That. Hmph. Just a stick.”

“Throw it down.”

“Nah. It’s no good to You. Just a stick.”

“Let it go.”

“Nah. I kinda need it.”

“Give it up.”

“I like it.”

“Moses. Open your hand. Throw it down. Let it go. Give it up.”

No longer was this merely a piece of wood. It was now a matter of obedience. Moses finally threw the rod on the ground.

And when he did, it became a hissing snake!

Oh my goodness.

If God can do what He did with an ordinary piece of wood for Moses ...

If God can do what He did with an ordinary piece of wood for Shamgar ...

Think what He’ll do—with your life ...

If you’ll let it go. Give it up. And live in total obedience to Him.

One Person Can Make a Difference
So do we really need to keep arguing about the fact that God can use YOU to make a difference? Forget ability. That’s not the issue. God isn’t looking for ability. He’s looking for availability.

Forget the fact that you think someone else could do a better job at whatever God’s calling you to do. If He wanted someone else, He’d call her.

When God calls YOU, will you respond in obedience? And will you respond in obedience immediately like Shamgar did?

If so, God will use you to make a difference.

Susie Shellenberger is the creator of SUSIE Magazine and lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., with her mini-Schnauzer, Obie. Susie used to have a stick, but Obie ate it.