Let God Choose

Editorial Note

This article is inspired by and draws directly from a radio message by Dr. Robert A. Cook titled “One Step at a Time.” Some quotations are verbatim, others are edited for clarity, and all are shared in the spirit of faithfully conveying his teaching and reflecting on what is shaping my thinking about steadfastness.

Steadfastness Requires Surrender

To be steadfast is not the same as being stubborn.

It is not clinging to a role, a platform, or a season of usefulness.

Biblical steadfastness begins with surrender—especially the surrender of outcomes.

To be faithful means more than endurance or resilience. Scripture consistently frames faithfulness as availability and responsiveness. To be steadfast is to remain yielded to the will of God, whether the road leads into public visibility or into quiet, unseen obedience. In God’s economy, the commitment matters far more than the assignment.

God Puts People on Stage—and Takes Them Off

Dr. Cook makes this sobering observation:

“God puts people on stage, and then at His pleasure, seems to remove them.”

Modern Christian culture often assumes that God’s favor is naturally expressed through prominence.

But church history tells a humbling story. Dr. Cook recounts that there have been men and women greatly used by God in seasons of revival—moments when the Spirit swept thousands into the Kingdom—only for those same individuals to pass quietly out of public view afterward. Their disappearance was God’s sovereign choice.

Dr. Cook interprets it this way:

“God uses people when He wants to. And because He’s greatly using you at this point does not guarantee that He’s going to keep on.”

Steadfastness is not proved by the spotlight or by presuming on God’s continued use, but by faithfulness when the music fades.

When Usefulness Is Seasonal, Faithfulness Must Be Steady

We must not confuse assignment with identity. When God changes our assignment, it does not mean He is removing or reducing His love.

Consider the lesson from Philip’s story (Acts 8:4–8). His preaching sparked a regional spiritual awakening with remarkable effectiveness—the whole city was filled with great joy.

It may have been tempting to interpret that success as something permanent.

Instead, God reassigns him (see Acts 8:26–40).

Dr. Cook points it out plainly:

“So Philip leaves all of that spectacle of great interest and success and goes and talks to the Ethiopian…”

From public breakthrough to a desert road. From large crowds to just one seeker.

Steadfast faith follows God just as willingly into obscurity as into influence.

“Let God Choose How He Is Going to Use You”

“The point I’m making,” Dr. Cook explains, “is let God choose how He is going to use you.”

That is easier said than done. We want clarity, predictability, and—if we are honest—significance.

God’s way requires something far riskier: trust.

Dr. Cook recalls a line from a preacher who once said, “Don’t offer God your talents—just give Him yourself.”

That is the wisdom God seeks to impart to us. We must be willing to die to our own dreams and ideas about how we should serve Him.

• “God, I can sing—please use my voice.”

• “God, I can write—please use my pen.”

• “God, I can lead—please use my abilities.”

But Dr. Cook’s counsel comes from a deeper place of wisdom:

“Don’t tell God what He’s supposed to do with you. Just give yourself to Him.”

God already knows what He intends to do. John Wesley memorably expressed this posture of surrender:

“Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee,

exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee.”

To be “laid aside” is not abandonment—it is obedience without acclaim.

Steadfastness is not loyalty to a role or a mission. It is loyalty to God—whatever form that obedience may take.

A Closing Word

When you choose to submit to the will of God, it is an act of trust, not passivity.

So, resolve to stay faithful whether your obedience is appreciated or ignored, celebrated or hidden.

When you are steadfast, you don’t insist on knowing what comes next.

You simply offer yourself fully to the One who calls—and trust in His wisdom to assign or lay aside as He sees fit.

PS

Much of this “Steadfast” devotional series is being shaped by the songs on my upcoming project, Keep the Faith. This album is shaped by declarations of resilience—holding on to faith in the face of life’s trials. Each song is an expression of that hope, with a message that relies on Christ as the source of our strength. Find out more at https://robstill.bandcamp.com/