Lawrence of Arabia became famous for his exploits as British Military liaison to the Arab Revolt during the First World War. During the war, Lawrence formed close friendships with many of the Sheiks of Arabia. After the war, he brought some of these Sheiks back to England to show his appreciation for their support against the Turkish domination. On the last night of their visit Lawrence offered them a chose of anything they wanted to take back to their desert homes. They chose the faucet from the bathtub and said they wanted to take faucets with them that would provide running water in their desert homes. They did not realize the water did not come from the faucet but from the intricate chain of power behind the faucet.

God uses 'faucets' as His tools to do His mighty work here on earth but there are chains of events before the power of God is revealed. The widow (2 Kings 4) had only 'a little oil' in her house and no jars. The prophet, Elisha, sent her to neighboring houses to gather up empty jars that she might fill them all with the 'little oil' she had in her house. We aren’t told the woman’s thoughts on the matter but we do see that she used trust, belief and obedience BEFORE God used His power. "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Every living being, animal and plant life in existence needs a tool to exist, survive, and function and to grow. Think about it! Cats use their claws as tools to scratch not only their body irritants, but each other and sometimes you. They also use your furniture to sharpen their 'tools'. We all use tools and more importantly, we are all God’s 'tools'. Does God NEED us to accomplish His purpose? Not necessarily! In the beginning God was! In the Hebrew translation of Genesis, God is the noun, Elohim (plural of Eloah), and is an extension of the Hebrew root 'el'. This means Supreme Being in the sense of the English deity or god. Since the name Elohim is plural, the name implies the Trinity. The words 'let us' (Genesis 1:26) also imply the Trinity. Created, Hebrew word Bara, means to bring forth completely new, not from pre-existing material. God spoke the heavens and earth into existent and then used two of His spoken tools to create man; dirt and breath (Genesis 2:7). The un-invited Satan crept into the perfect garden and used God’s created 'Tree of Life' as a tool to trip man up and cause the fall. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, God used a Cherubim to keep guard on the entrance with a flaming sword (Genesis 3:24).

Therefore we realize that God can create whatever He needs for His use; that is precisely why He created us. We are created for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11)! If you are thinking that He can’t use you because you are 'not good enough', remember the Words of Jesus; "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). Scripture brings to mind Solomon who was too rich; Abraham who was too old; Peter was a coward with a loud mouth; Lazarus was dead; Paul was a murderer and Noah was a drunk! Moses stuttered; David’s armor didn’t fit; John Mark was rejected by Paul; Timothy had ulcers and Jacob was a liar. Now if you are thinking you are better than these guys, be careful! "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Romans 12:3); "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Romans 7:18).

Our body parts are God’s tools and He has arranged every one of them just as He wanted them to be (1 Corinthians 12:18). "How beautiful are the feet that bring the good news" (Isaiah 52:7). This sounds like an oxymoron to me, especially since through bible history we have learned that 'feet' were always dirty and caked with mud from walking the dusty roads in sandals. But Wait! Read this! "And she stood behind Him at His feet weeping; she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, KISSED THEM and poured perfume on them" (Luke 7:38). Maybe we should start looking at feet in a different light. We may get a surprise OR an opportunity!

Along with the unsavory people God used there were two small fish and 5 loaves of home baked bread that He used to cater to 5000 people (Mark 6:38, 41-43); water to make wine for a wedding (John 2:7-9); a fish to cough up tax money (Matthews 17:27); dirt and spit for a blind man to see (John 9:1, 6-7); earthquakes and smoke to show His anger (Psalm 18:7-8); a hand with no body (Daniel 5:5) and He inserted a 'thorn' in Paul’s side (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). He used water to destroy what was bad (Genesis 6:9) and water to save what was good (Exodus 14:21-29). God uses His created angels to do his bidding (Daniel 7:10, Psalm 103:20, Hebrews 1:14 and Psalm 91:11). There is His own scripture to teach us (2 Timothy 3:16), nature to show us (Psalm 19:1-4), conscience to guide us (Romans 2:15) and gifts to enlighten us (1 Corinthians 12:8).

God’s Word is a power packed tool like fire (Exodus 13:21) and like a hammer that breaks rocks into pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). His Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11) but accomplishes all He desires. It lights your way (Psalm 119:105) and stills your storms (Matthews 14:33). The Word of God is sharper than a double edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) through which we are made holy and clean (Ephesians 5:26). We are born again of imperishable seed through the living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23), and will be refined and purified through His fire (Malachi 3:2-3). With His mouth He swallowed up death (Isaiah 25:8) and with the sword of His mouth (Revelation 19:15) He will strike down the nations and rule them with an iron scepter.

In 1874 Sir James Simpson discovered that Chloroform could be used as an anesthetic to render people insensible to the pain of surgery. While lecturing at the University of Edinburgh some years later, a student asked what he considered his most valuable discovery in his lifetime. His answer: "My most valuable discovery was when I discovered myself a sinner and that Jesus Christ was my Savior"! No matter what we accomplish in life, we are just a faucet, an empty vessel; a tool in God’s work shed. The Power is God’s!