It is quite possible that God will farm me out to other masters for my own spiritual education. The Jews of Jeremiah’s day were told, “Serve the king of Babylon, and live!” (Jeremiah 27:17). God decided to farm out the Jews to Nebuchadnezzar for seventy years until their idolatry was purged. So the king of Babylon was their new “temporary master,” and they were to cooperate with him and “live.”
It surprises me that good King Hezekiah, godly as he was, did not cure the Jews of idolatry, but bad King Nebuchadnezzar, pagan as he was, did! The lesson for me is, my touchy neighbor may do me more good than my godly pastor. My atheistic foreman at the factory may purge me from my impatience faster and better than my Bible class teacher. This I know—God will not quibble over instruments. If He could use Babylon to purge the Jews, He can certainly use an unlikely agent to purge me.
This explains why my circumstances are filled with specially chosen people. Regardless of their relationship to God, God has a special relationship to them. They are His tools for the fine work of chiseling character in His disciples. That means that I must change my attitude toward the “unspiritual” and “worldly minded” people who make up my environment. Without them I can never become what God intends for me to be. So I am going to start praising God for them. I will no longer tell God what instruments He is going to use to shape me. And I will thank Him for the instruments He has already chosen. I can rejoice that God’s agencies are for my sake, “so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15, NIV).
“And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, in order that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name” (Isaiah 45:3)
Daily with the King 