Don’t Exclude Yourself: Why God Can Use You Too

There are times when we read the Bible and quietly place its stories in a category that feels distant from us. We read about Jesus, the apostles, and the great men and women of God, and we admire what happened through them—but somewhere in our hearts, we separate ourselves from the possibility of that same kind of life.

We think, That was Jesus.

Or, That was the apostle Paul.

Or, Those were great men of God.

And before we know it, we have placed the works of God in the past—or at least in the lives of other people.

But the Word of God was not written merely to impress us. It was written to instruct us, form us, and show us what is possible when a life is yielded to God.

When Jesus said that we would do greater works, He meant it. And the early Church believed Him enough to step into it. They healed the sick, cast out demons, preached boldly, and carried the power of God into their world. Yet many of us, when we read those same stories, still find a way to exclude ourselves.

The Quiet Habit of Self-Exclusion

Sometimes our exclusion is subtle.

We may not openly say, God cannot use me, but the way we think reveals it.

We narrow the works of God down to what feels manageable or familiar. We limit “good works” to things like giving to the poor, volunteering, or going on a medical mission. Now, these are absolutely good things. They matter deeply. But if that is the full extent of what we believe God can do through us, then we may be thinking far too small.

After all, even non-Christians can do kind and charitable things.

The life of God in us was never meant to produce only what human effort can achieve. God wants to move through us in ways that reveal His power, His goodness, and His kingdom.

The danger is that we often limit the power of God in our lives because we have already decided that we are not the kind of people He would use.

Is Self-Exclusion a Form of Pride?

As I meditated on this, a strange but piercing thought came to my heart:

Why do we think we are so special—or our case is so uniquely bad—that the God who called light to shine out of darkness is unable to use us?

That question stopped me.

Because if the King of the universe places us in a position of possibility, and we remove ourselves from it, what exactly are we doing?

In a quiet way, we are telling God that our limitations are more decisive than His power. We are saying, perhaps unintentionally, that His invitation is not enough to overcome our weakness, our past, our fear, or our sense of inadequacy.

And when you put it that way, it does begin to look like pride.

Not the loud, boastful kind.

But the hidden kind that says, My situation is beyond what God can do.

That is why this thought is worth meditating on deeply:

Miracles can happen through me.

Not because I am special.

Not because I am strong.

But because God is willing, powerful, and able.

Jesus Was Not Set Apart by Flashiness, but by Yieldedness

When we look at the life of Jesus, one thing becomes clear: God intentionally made Him plain enough that we would have no excuse to say He operated the way He did because He was some sort of extraordinary human specimen.

Yes, Jesus is the Son of God. But in His earthly ministry, He lived as a man fully yielded to the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He Himself acknowledged His dependence. He did not act independently or self-sufficiently. He moved in step with the Father’s will.

What set Jesus apart in the works He did was not that He used some inaccessible divine advantage to avoid dependence. It was that He was fully yielded to the plan of God. He knew His assignment was to do the will of the Father, regardless of Himself.

That is the pattern.

Miracles happen through yielded vessels.

Not perfect vessels.

Not impressive vessels.

Yielded vessels.

How We Exclude Ourselves in the Health Journey

This same pattern shows up in our health journeys.

I have come across patients who have already decided that they can never really be healthy. They believe they will always be sickly, always struggle, always fail, always be stuck in the same cycles. They hear stories of people who changed their habits, improved their health, and transformed their quality of life—but before they even begin, they disqualify themselves.

They do not attempt change because they have already decided it will not work for them.

And in doing so, they become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

They do not move forward, so they remain where they are—or sometimes become worse. Not always because change was impossible, but because they excluded themselves from the possibility of transformation.

How many people stay bound simply because they never believed freedom could happen through them?

How many people stay unhealthy because they never believed they could become a success story?

Yieldedness Is the Beginning of Change

The truth is simple and humbling:

Health transformation happens to those who yield themselves to change.

Not those who know the most.

Not those who start perfectly.

Not those who have ideal circumstances.

But those who say yes to the next step.

In the same way that miracles happen through yielded vessels, change happens through yielded hearts.

If you yield your eating habits to God, He can help you.

If you yield your sleep, your movement, your routines, your stress, your mindset—He can work in all of it.

But if you have already decided, This could never happen for me, then you may never even take the step that would allow His grace to meet you.

Stop Removing Yourself from God’s Invitation

So I will ask the question again:

What is so special or unique about you that God cannot do the impossible through you?

What makes your life so far gone, your habits so fixed, or your weakness so final that God’s power cannot break through?

If God is inviting you into growth, healing, change, service, or kingdom work, do not remove yourself from the invitation before you have even begun.

Do not count yourself out of what He has counted you into.

Do not stand outside the story He is calling you into because you think your case is different.

It is not your strength that qualifies you. It is your yieldedness.

A Final Encouragement

Do not exclude yourself from the works of God.

Do not exclude yourself from the possibility of health.

Do not exclude yourself from being used, transformed, strengthened, healed, or changed.

The same God who moved through Jesus, through the apostles, through ordinary men and women across Scripture, is still at work today.

And He is still looking for yielded vessels.

So instead of saying, That could never be me,

begin to say,

Lord, I know You are willing, I am available.

Because miracles can happen through yielded vessels.

And transformation comes to those who stop disqualifying themselves from the grace of God.

I love you,

Oyin.