Article Title:
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season?
URL:
how-can-god-use-you-in-a-difficult-season
Title:
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season? | The Orchard Church
Description:
What if God wants to use you right where you are, even in a difficult season? Discover how prayer, wise living, and faithful relationships can make Jesus known through your life.
Article Excerpt:
A difficult season can feel like a place you need to escape. But what if God wants to use you right where you are? Colossians 4 shows us how to pray, live wisely, and recognize opportunities to make Jesus known.
Category:
Faith & Life
Tags:
Colossians, prayer, sharing your faith, difficult seasons, following Jesus
Featured Image Idea:
A warm, natural photograph of a person standing in an ordinary setting—such as a workplace, neighborhood street, coffee shop, or home—with light coming through a window or doorway, visually representing being a light where God has placed you.
Image Filename:
god-use-you-difficult-season.jpg
Image Alt Text:
Person standing in an ordinary setting with light coming through a doorway, representing living as a light for Jesus.
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season?
What if the circumstance you most want to escape is actually a place where God wants to work through you?
When life goes sideways, our natural prayer is often simple: God, fix this.
Heal it. Change it. Open the door. Get me out.
Those are honest prayers, and God invites us to bring our needs to Him. But Colossians 4 introduces us to another prayer—one that changes the way we see difficult circumstances.
It is the prayer Paul was living while sitting in prison:
“God, use me in this.”
Paul wasn't asking only for an open prison door. He was asking God to open a door for the message of Jesus.
That distinction matters.
Sometimes God changes our circumstances. Sometimes He doesn't change them as quickly as we want. But even when the circumstances remain difficult, God can still work in us and through us.
The question becomes:
Jesus, how do you want to work in me and through me in this circumstance?
The Light Is Already There
Most of us took a picture this week. We pulled out a phone, touched the screen, and instantly there it was.
For most of human history, that was impossible.
Centuries ago, people used something called a camera obscura—a dark room with a small opening in one wall. Light would pass through the opening and project an upside-down image of the outside world onto the opposite wall.
Trees. Buildings. People walking past.
Artists could trace those images to create incredibly detailed paintings.
But the image wouldn't stay.
Cover the opening, and it disappeared. Lose the sunlight, and it was gone.
Human beings had learned how to make an image appear, but they couldn't make it remain.
Then, in the 1820s, French inventor Nicéphore Niépce began experimenting with a way to make light leave an image behind. Eventually, he created a faint image that remained on a metal plate.
Later, Louis Daguerre worked to make the process faster and clearer. One day, he removed a plate from a camera and it appeared blank.
Nothing was there—or so it seemed.
But when he exposed the plate to certain chemicals, an image appeared.
The chemicals hadn't created the image. They revealed what the light had already written.
They called it a latent image—a hidden image.
That picture helps us understand the closing chapters of Colossians.
In chapter 1, Paul showed us who Jesus is: Jesus Above All.
In chapter 2, he showed us what Jesus has already done: Jesus. Period.
In chapter 3, he showed us that this new life doesn't remain hidden: Jesus Made Visible.
And in chapter 4, Paul shows us why Jesus is becoming visible in us:
So Jesus can become known through us.
Paul writes these words from prison.
From the outside, his life might have looked like a blank plate—nothing moving, nothing good coming from it.
But something was already there that prison couldn't erase.
Jesus was alive in Paul.
The prison didn't put Jesus inside him.
The prison made Jesus within him visible.
And because Jesus was visible in Paul, Jesus became known through Paul.
That is how Colossians ends:
Jesus Made Known.
Pray for an Open Door
Paul begins Colossians 4 by telling believers to devote themselves to prayer, staying alert and thankful. Then he asks them to pray for an open door for the message of Jesus.
Notice what Paul doesn't make his first request.
He doesn't simply ask for an open prison door.
He asks for an open door for the gospel.
Paul is living a prayer that says, God, don't just get me out of this. Use me in this.
Think about the hardest circumstance in your life right now.
Maybe it's a relationship you don't know how to repair.
Maybe it's a diagnosis you cannot change.
Maybe it's a child you cannot rescue.
Maybe it's an uncertain future.
If God told you He would answer one prayer about it, what would you ask?
Most of us would probably say, “God, fix it.”
And it's okay to ask God for help.
But what if we added one more line?
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this, here, today.”
That is a different way of looking at our circumstances.
It doesn't deny that the pain is real. It doesn't pretend that a difficult situation is easy.
It simply recognizes that God can work even when we cannot yet see what He is doing.
Sometimes a Disappointment Is a New Deployment
John Hammonds leads our prayer team, and if you've been around The Orchard, you've probably seen him at the front of the room after services.
John loves to fish.
One day, he was out of town on a lake when his boat engine broke.
He had to get the boat to shore and haul it to a repair shop in another town. He lost an entire day.
Most of us would call that a ruined fishing trip.
John saw it differently.
He figured that if this was where he had to be, God might have an appointment for him there.
So while he waited at the repair shop, John started talking with the people around him. He got to know the repairman and asked about his life.
Eventually, John had the opportunity to share what Jesus had done in his life.
Later, John called and told me how amazing the day had been.
I asked, “Really? Did you catch a lot of fish?”
He said, “No, my boat is broke, but I got to talk with the repairman for hours about his faith. It was definitely a God thing.”
Where I might have seen chains, John saw an opportunity.
Was the boat still broken?
Yes.
But John shared Jesus with people he never would have met if the engine had worked.
That is the kind of maturity I want when my plans break:
“God, how do you want to use me in this?”
Sometimes what we call a disappointment may actually be a new deployment.
The circumstance may not change immediately. But the very place where we feel stuck may be a place where Jesus wants us to be a blessing.
God can use some of our hardest days to reach someone we otherwise never would have met.
Paul understood this. Even his imprisonment became an opportunity for the message of Jesus to spread.
So whatever you're praying about your circumstance, add one more line:
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this, here, today.”
Keep Your Eyes Open for the Opportunities God Is Already Giving You
Paul tells the Colossian believers to pray with an alert mind.
Being alert means keeping our eyes open and paying attention to what God may already be doing.
An open door doesn't always look dramatic.
It may be a coworker admitting that they're struggling.
It may be your child wanting to talk when you're ready for bed.
It may be someone opening up about anxiety.
In fact, open doors often arrive disguised as interruptions.
If we're not alert, we can answer the text, finish the task, keep the schedule—and miss the moment God put right in front of us.
Sometimes we keep asking God for opportunities while hurrying past the people carrying them.
So pray with your eyes open.
Look around.
What might God already be doing?
Live Among People, Not Apart From Them
Paul continues by telling believers to live wisely among those who don't believe and to make the most of every opportunity.
Notice that word: among.
Not above them.
Not against them.
Among them.
Paul assumes Christians will share their lives with people who don't believe what they believe.
There was a season in my ministry when the larger the church grew, the smaller my world became.
The church was so consuming that, at one point, my whole life was church people.
I spoke, ate, worked, and played with church people. I read Christian books, listened to Christian radio, and even ate Christian chicken sandwiches.
At the height of my ministry there, I realized I didn't have one real friend who wasn't already part of the church.
I wasn't really living “among” anyone except church people.
So when I moved back to my hometown, I made a conscious decision:
I am not going to live insulated or isolated.
I wanted honest relationships with real people and real friends.
Inside those relationships, Jesus keeps working on me, and I want Him to work through me.
This was modeled by Jesus, who repeatedly sat at tables with people religious people avoided.
He never compromised or sinned, but people outside the religious community were changed because He was willing to be with them.
Insulation is not the same as holiness.
If nobody outside the church ever shares our table, our schedule, or our friendship, where will our light actually be seen?
Jesus called His followers “the light of the world.”
He didn't call us the light of the church.
Jesus didn't call us to hide from the darkness.
He called us to shine in it.
Your Life Can Open the Door for Your Words
Paul says to make the most of every opportunity.
He's not telling us to turn every trip to the grocery store into a spiritual ambush.
It's not:
“You like apples? Jesus died for your sins. How do you like them apples?”
No.
He's telling us not to waste the moments in front of us.
Imagine a coworker watches someone take credit for work you did.
They expect rage or revenge.
Instead, you tell the truth and set healthy boundaries without becoming cruel or plotting revenge. You respond with wisdom instead of rage.
Later they ask:
“Why did you handle it like that? I would have blown up.”
That question didn't begin when they spoke.
It began when they watched your life.
Jesus made visible creates the question.
Jesus made known gives the answer.
Our character matters, but character alone cannot explain the cross and resurrection.
Nobody can watch our patience and automatically know that Jesus carried our sin and rose from the grave.
Our lives can open the door.
But eventually, we need to speak.
The message needs to be visible in our lives and clear in our words.
Speak With Grace and Truth
Paul tells believers to let their conversation be full of grace and seasoned with salt, so they will know how to answer each person.
Our words should help people taste something of the kindness, patience, and love of Jesus.
The message of Jesus was meant to be shared person to person and life to life.
That doesn't mean you need an answer for every question.
You don't.
You can honestly say:
“I don't know the answer to everything. But I can tell you what Jesus has done for me.”
You can invite someone to church:
“Come on Sunday. I'll save you a seat.”
Our responsibility is to be loving and courageous.
Beyond that, God is responsible for the outcome.
So we speak clearly.
We love genuinely.
And we leave the work of changing a heart to God.
Jesus Makes Himself Known Through Ordinary People
At the end of Colossians, Paul does something interesting.
After telling the church to pray, live wisely, and speak with love and truth, he fills the final page with the names of other people.
Tychicus carried the letter and encouraged people.
Onesimus returned with a new identity as a faithful and beloved brother.
Epaphras prayed deeply.
Nympha opened her home.
Archippus had a ministry to finish.
Jesus wasn't making Himself known through Paul alone.
God's movement is never a one-man show.
Paul's vision for Jesus Made Known included names, homes, friendships, gifts, and ordinary assignments.
One person may preach, but Jesus reaches a whole region through His whole church.
This is still how Jesus works through The Orchard.
Someone welcomes a new family at the door.
Someone sits with a teenager and tells them the truth.
Someone opens a home or makes room at a table.
Someone faithfully prays for a name nobody else knows.
Someone brings the presence of Jesus into an ordinary workday.
Someone gives generously so ministry can move forward.
None of it is small.
Jesus doesn't move only through a preacher or a personality.
He works through His people—each in our own way, each in our own place.
Jesus makes Himself known through ordinary people in ordinary life.
One Place. One Prayer. One Person.
As we finish this series, here's one simple assignment:
One place. One prayer. One person.
One Place
Name the one place where you need the light of Jesus to shine through you.
The office.
The classroom.
The hospital.
The home.
Or maybe it's the difficult circumstance you've been wanting to escape.
Write it down.
Don't believe the lie that your hard season makes you spiritually useless.
The place where God may shine most brightly through you right now may be the very place you most want to escape.
God can work through our hardest seasons to reach someone we otherwise never would have met.
One Prayer
Add one prayer to your everyday life:
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this location, season, or situation.”
If the office is your one place, pray:
“Jesus, the office is my one place. Make yourself known through me here today.”
Instead of only praying that God would get you out of it, also pray that God would do great work while you're in it.
One Person
Then see the one person already in front of you.
Not a project.
Not a prospect.
A person God genuinely loves.
Don't force a door, but don't rush past one either.
Live wisely.
Keep your eyes open.
Listen carefully.
Speak with love and truth.
And when Jesus gives you an opportunity, don't hide the hope that has changed your life.
You don't need every answer.
You can simply tell someone what Jesus has done for you.
You can simply invite them to come and hear about Him.
The door may open this week, or it may open a year from now.
Your role may be one loving conversation in a story God has been writing in someone's life for decades.
Being faithful means being present and ready when God opens the door.
What If You Don't Yet Know Jesus?
If you don't know Jesus today, or you're not sure what you believe, this message is for you, too.
You are not a project to complete or an argument to win.
You are deeply loved by your Creator, and we're glad you're here.
The message Paul wanted an open door for is the message that changes lives.
Jesus didn't come simply to make religious people.
He came for all of us who were far from God.
He carried our sin to the cross. He died and rose from the grave. He offers forgiveness for your past, freedom in your present, and hope for your future—a new life given as a gift.
You don't have to clean yourself up first.
You can come to Jesus honestly, with whatever you're walking through and whatever you've done.
You can trust Him.
You can receive the life you could never create on your own.
The invitation is open.
The Chains May Still Be There, But So Is God's Purpose
Paul ends Colossians with a striking final sentence:
“Remember my chains. And may God's grace be with you.”
The chains are still there.
The circumstances are still hard.
The prison door is still locked.
But God's love and purpose are still present.
The light is still shining.
The message is still moving.
Some doors remain closed.
Some seasons last longer than we want.
But none of them are beyond God's reach.
That is the message of Colossians.
The first two chapters put down roots into Jesus:
•Jesus Above All in my life.
•Jesus. Period. He has done the work.
The next two chapters show us the growth and fruit:
•Jesus Made Visible in me.
•Jesus Made Known through me.
Jesus makes Himself known through ordinary people in ordinary life.
So where has God placed you?
Maybe it's a workplace.
A neighborhood.
A classroom.
A family.
A difficult season.
A place you desperately want to leave.
What if, instead of only asking God to get you out, you asked Him to use you while you're there?
What if you prayed with your heart open, lived with the light on, and spoke when God opened the door?
The sermon ends in the church building.
But the message begins to move when we walk out the doors.
The church gathers to worship Jesus.
Then we leave to make Him known.
Live visibly.
Speak clearly.
Live courageously.
Your assignment is simple:
Go to where God has you deployed and shine.
One place.
One prayer.
One person.
This article was adapted from a sermon by Daniel Self at The Orchard Church in Carbondale, Colorado.
Explore more messages and resources from The Orchard Church at https://theorchardlife.com/media.
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season?
URL:
how-can-god-use-you-in-a-difficult-season
Title:
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season? | The Orchard Church
Description:
What if God wants to use you right where you are, even in a difficult season? Discover how prayer, wise living, and faithful relationships can make Jesus known through your life.
Article Excerpt:
A difficult season can feel like a place you need to escape. But what if God wants to use you right where you are? Colossians 4 shows us how to pray, live wisely, and recognize opportunities to make Jesus known.
Category:
Faith & Life
Tags:
Colossians, prayer, sharing your faith, difficult seasons, following Jesus
Featured Image Idea:
A warm, natural photograph of a person standing in an ordinary setting—such as a workplace, neighborhood street, coffee shop, or home—with light coming through a window or doorway, visually representing being a light where God has placed you.
Image Filename:
god-use-you-difficult-season.jpg
Image Alt Text:
Person standing in an ordinary setting with light coming through a doorway, representing living as a light for Jesus.
How Can God Use You in a Difficult Season?
What if the circumstance you most want to escape is actually a place where God wants to work through you?
When life goes sideways, our natural prayer is often simple: God, fix this.
Heal it. Change it. Open the door. Get me out.
Those are honest prayers, and God invites us to bring our needs to Him. But Colossians 4 introduces us to another prayer—one that changes the way we see difficult circumstances.
It is the prayer Paul was living while sitting in prison:
“God, use me in this.”
Paul wasn't asking only for an open prison door. He was asking God to open a door for the message of Jesus.
That distinction matters.
Sometimes God changes our circumstances. Sometimes He doesn't change them as quickly as we want. But even when the circumstances remain difficult, God can still work in us and through us.
The question becomes:
Jesus, how do you want to work in me and through me in this circumstance?
The Light Is Already There
Most of us took a picture this week. We pulled out a phone, touched the screen, and instantly there it was.
For most of human history, that was impossible.
Centuries ago, people used something called a camera obscura—a dark room with a small opening in one wall. Light would pass through the opening and project an upside-down image of the outside world onto the opposite wall.
Trees. Buildings. People walking past.
Artists could trace those images to create incredibly detailed paintings.
But the image wouldn't stay.
Cover the opening, and it disappeared. Lose the sunlight, and it was gone.
Human beings had learned how to make an image appear, but they couldn't make it remain.
Then, in the 1820s, French inventor Nicéphore Niépce began experimenting with a way to make light leave an image behind. Eventually, he created a faint image that remained on a metal plate.
Later, Louis Daguerre worked to make the process faster and clearer. One day, he removed a plate from a camera and it appeared blank.
Nothing was there—or so it seemed.
But when he exposed the plate to certain chemicals, an image appeared.
The chemicals hadn't created the image. They revealed what the light had already written.
They called it a latent image—a hidden image.
That picture helps us understand the closing chapters of Colossians.
In chapter 1, Paul showed us who Jesus is: Jesus Above All.
In chapter 2, he showed us what Jesus has already done: Jesus. Period.
In chapter 3, he showed us that this new life doesn't remain hidden: Jesus Made Visible.
And in chapter 4, Paul shows us why Jesus is becoming visible in us:
So Jesus can become known through us.
Paul writes these words from prison.
From the outside, his life might have looked like a blank plate—nothing moving, nothing good coming from it.
But something was already there that prison couldn't erase.
Jesus was alive in Paul.
The prison didn't put Jesus inside him.
The prison made Jesus within him visible.
And because Jesus was visible in Paul, Jesus became known through Paul.
That is how Colossians ends:
Jesus Made Known.
Pray for an Open Door
Paul begins Colossians 4 by telling believers to devote themselves to prayer, staying alert and thankful. Then he asks them to pray for an open door for the message of Jesus.
Notice what Paul doesn't make his first request.
He doesn't simply ask for an open prison door.
He asks for an open door for the gospel.
Paul is living a prayer that says, God, don't just get me out of this. Use me in this.
Think about the hardest circumstance in your life right now.
Maybe it's a relationship you don't know how to repair.
Maybe it's a diagnosis you cannot change.
Maybe it's a child you cannot rescue.
Maybe it's an uncertain future.
If God told you He would answer one prayer about it, what would you ask?
Most of us would probably say, “God, fix it.”
And it's okay to ask God for help.
But what if we added one more line?
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this, here, today.”
That is a different way of looking at our circumstances.
It doesn't deny that the pain is real. It doesn't pretend that a difficult situation is easy.
It simply recognizes that God can work even when we cannot yet see what He is doing.
Sometimes a Disappointment Is a New Deployment
John Hammonds leads our prayer team, and if you've been around The Orchard, you've probably seen him at the front of the room after services.
John loves to fish.
One day, he was out of town on a lake when his boat engine broke.
He had to get the boat to shore and haul it to a repair shop in another town. He lost an entire day.
Most of us would call that a ruined fishing trip.
John saw it differently.
He figured that if this was where he had to be, God might have an appointment for him there.
So while he waited at the repair shop, John started talking with the people around him. He got to know the repairman and asked about his life.
Eventually, John had the opportunity to share what Jesus had done in his life.
Later, John called and told me how amazing the day had been.
I asked, “Really? Did you catch a lot of fish?”
He said, “No, my boat is broke, but I got to talk with the repairman for hours about his faith. It was definitely a God thing.”
Where I might have seen chains, John saw an opportunity.
Was the boat still broken?
Yes.
But John shared Jesus with people he never would have met if the engine had worked.
That is the kind of maturity I want when my plans break:
“God, how do you want to use me in this?”
Sometimes what we call a disappointment may actually be a new deployment.
The circumstance may not change immediately. But the very place where we feel stuck may be a place where Jesus wants us to be a blessing.
God can use some of our hardest days to reach someone we otherwise never would have met.
Paul understood this. Even his imprisonment became an opportunity for the message of Jesus to spread.
So whatever you're praying about your circumstance, add one more line:
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this, here, today.”
Keep Your Eyes Open for the Opportunities God Is Already Giving You
Paul tells the Colossian believers to pray with an alert mind.
Being alert means keeping our eyes open and paying attention to what God may already be doing.
An open door doesn't always look dramatic.
It may be a coworker admitting that they're struggling.
It may be your child wanting to talk when you're ready for bed.
It may be someone opening up about anxiety.
In fact, open doors often arrive disguised as interruptions.
If we're not alert, we can answer the text, finish the task, keep the schedule—and miss the moment God put right in front of us.
Sometimes we keep asking God for opportunities while hurrying past the people carrying them.
So pray with your eyes open.
Look around.
What might God already be doing?
Live Among People, Not Apart From Them
Paul continues by telling believers to live wisely among those who don't believe and to make the most of every opportunity.
Notice that word: among.
Not above them.
Not against them.
Among them.
Paul assumes Christians will share their lives with people who don't believe what they believe.
There was a season in my ministry when the larger the church grew, the smaller my world became.
The church was so consuming that, at one point, my whole life was church people.
I spoke, ate, worked, and played with church people. I read Christian books, listened to Christian radio, and even ate Christian chicken sandwiches.
At the height of my ministry there, I realized I didn't have one real friend who wasn't already part of the church.
I wasn't really living “among” anyone except church people.
So when I moved back to my hometown, I made a conscious decision:
I am not going to live insulated or isolated.
I wanted honest relationships with real people and real friends.
Inside those relationships, Jesus keeps working on me, and I want Him to work through me.
This was modeled by Jesus, who repeatedly sat at tables with people religious people avoided.
He never compromised or sinned, but people outside the religious community were changed because He was willing to be with them.
Insulation is not the same as holiness.
If nobody outside the church ever shares our table, our schedule, or our friendship, where will our light actually be seen?
Jesus called His followers “the light of the world.”
He didn't call us the light of the church.
Jesus didn't call us to hide from the darkness.
He called us to shine in it.
Your Life Can Open the Door for Your Words
Paul says to make the most of every opportunity.
He's not telling us to turn every trip to the grocery store into a spiritual ambush.
It's not:
“You like apples? Jesus died for your sins. How do you like them apples?”
No.
He's telling us not to waste the moments in front of us.
Imagine a coworker watches someone take credit for work you did.
They expect rage or revenge.
Instead, you tell the truth and set healthy boundaries without becoming cruel or plotting revenge. You respond with wisdom instead of rage.
Later they ask:
“Why did you handle it like that? I would have blown up.”
That question didn't begin when they spoke.
It began when they watched your life.
Jesus made visible creates the question.
Jesus made known gives the answer.
Our character matters, but character alone cannot explain the cross and resurrection.
Nobody can watch our patience and automatically know that Jesus carried our sin and rose from the grave.
Our lives can open the door.
But eventually, we need to speak.
The message needs to be visible in our lives and clear in our words.
Speak With Grace and Truth
Paul tells believers to let their conversation be full of grace and seasoned with salt, so they will know how to answer each person.
Our words should help people taste something of the kindness, patience, and love of Jesus.
The message of Jesus was meant to be shared person to person and life to life.
That doesn't mean you need an answer for every question.
You don't.
You can honestly say:
“I don't know the answer to everything. But I can tell you what Jesus has done for me.”
You can invite someone to church:
“Come on Sunday. I'll save you a seat.”
Our responsibility is to be loving and courageous.
Beyond that, God is responsible for the outcome.
So we speak clearly.
We love genuinely.
And we leave the work of changing a heart to God.
Jesus Makes Himself Known Through Ordinary People
At the end of Colossians, Paul does something interesting.
After telling the church to pray, live wisely, and speak with love and truth, he fills the final page with the names of other people.
Tychicus carried the letter and encouraged people.
Onesimus returned with a new identity as a faithful and beloved brother.
Epaphras prayed deeply.
Nympha opened her home.
Archippus had a ministry to finish.
Jesus wasn't making Himself known through Paul alone.
God's movement is never a one-man show.
Paul's vision for Jesus Made Known included names, homes, friendships, gifts, and ordinary assignments.
One person may preach, but Jesus reaches a whole region through His whole church.
This is still how Jesus works through The Orchard.
Someone welcomes a new family at the door.
Someone sits with a teenager and tells them the truth.
Someone opens a home or makes room at a table.
Someone faithfully prays for a name nobody else knows.
Someone brings the presence of Jesus into an ordinary workday.
Someone gives generously so ministry can move forward.
None of it is small.
Jesus doesn't move only through a preacher or a personality.
He works through His people—each in our own way, each in our own place.
Jesus makes Himself known through ordinary people in ordinary life.
One Place. One Prayer. One Person.
As we finish this series, here's one simple assignment:
One place. One prayer. One person.
One Place
Name the one place where you need the light of Jesus to shine through you.
The office.
The classroom.
The hospital.
The home.
Or maybe it's the difficult circumstance you've been wanting to escape.
Write it down.
Don't believe the lie that your hard season makes you spiritually useless.
The place where God may shine most brightly through you right now may be the very place you most want to escape.
God can work through our hardest seasons to reach someone we otherwise never would have met.
One Prayer
Add one prayer to your everyday life:
“Jesus, make yourself known through me in this location, season, or situation.”
If the office is your one place, pray:
“Jesus, the office is my one place. Make yourself known through me here today.”
Instead of only praying that God would get you out of it, also pray that God would do great work while you're in it.
One Person
Then see the one person already in front of you.
Not a project.
Not a prospect.
A person God genuinely loves.
Don't force a door, but don't rush past one either.
Live wisely.
Keep your eyes open.
Listen carefully.
Speak with love and truth.
And when Jesus gives you an opportunity, don't hide the hope that has changed your life.
You don't need every answer.
You can simply tell someone what Jesus has done for you.
You can simply invite them to come and hear about Him.
The door may open this week, or it may open a year from now.
Your role may be one loving conversation in a story God has been writing in someone's life for decades.
Being faithful means being present and ready when God opens the door.
What If You Don't Yet Know Jesus?
If you don't know Jesus today, or you're not sure what you believe, this message is for you, too.
You are not a project to complete or an argument to win.
You are deeply loved by your Creator, and we're glad you're here.
The message Paul wanted an open door for is the message that changes lives.
Jesus didn't come simply to make religious people.
He came for all of us who were far from God.
He carried our sin to the cross. He died and rose from the grave. He offers forgiveness for your past, freedom in your present, and hope for your future—a new life given as a gift.
You don't have to clean yourself up first.
You can come to Jesus honestly, with whatever you're walking through and whatever you've done.
You can trust Him.
You can receive the life you could never create on your own.
The invitation is open.
The Chains May Still Be There, But So Is God's Purpose
Paul ends Colossians with a striking final sentence:
“Remember my chains. And may God's grace be with you.”
The chains are still there.
The circumstances are still hard.
The prison door is still locked.
But God's love and purpose are still present.
The light is still shining.
The message is still moving.
Some doors remain closed.
Some seasons last longer than we want.
But none of them are beyond God's reach.
That is the message of Colossians.
The first two chapters put down roots into Jesus:
•Jesus Above All in my life.
•Jesus. Period. He has done the work.
The next two chapters show us the growth and fruit:
•Jesus Made Visible in me.
•Jesus Made Known through me.
Jesus makes Himself known through ordinary people in ordinary life.
So where has God placed you?
Maybe it's a workplace.
A neighborhood.
A classroom.
A family.
A difficult season.
A place you desperately want to leave.
What if, instead of only asking God to get you out, you asked Him to use you while you're there?
What if you prayed with your heart open, lived with the light on, and spoke when God opened the door?
The sermon ends in the church building.
But the message begins to move when we walk out the doors.
The church gathers to worship Jesus.
Then we leave to make Him known.
Live visibly.
Speak clearly.
Live courageously.
Your assignment is simple:
Go to where God has you deployed and shine.
One place.
One prayer.
One person.
This article was adapted from a sermon by Daniel Self at The Orchard Church in Carbondale, Colorado.
Explore more messages and resources from The Orchard Church at https://theorchardlife.com/media.