Can God Use Me?
This post is an abridged excerpt from Daring Devotion (Day 6), a collection of short missionary biographies.
“I requested of my Lord and Master to give me a work, I did not care how mean it was, only to try and see how good I would do it.”
These words from George Liele, missionary to Jamaica (c. 1750–1820), reflect the humble spirit that would characterize a life of extraordinary impact.
From Slavery to Spiritual Freedom
Born a slave around 1750 in Virginia, Liele grew up in servitude. In 1770 his master, Henry Sharpe, a British loyalist, moved him and his family to Georgia. Three years later, while attending Buckhead Creek Baptist Church with his master’s family, Liele heard the gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior. He was soon baptized and accepted into the membership of this church made up of both colonials and slaves.
Liele immediately began preaching among his fellow slaves. His church, recognizing God’s blessing on his ministry, licensed him to preach. Soon after, his master freed him from slavery to pursue the Lord’s work. In 1775, Liele helped establish the Silver Bluff Church, probably the first African-American church in America. He continued preaching on plantations until the War of Independence forced him to settle in British-occupied Savannah, where he organized the First African Baptist Church.
Pioneer Missionary to Jamaica
With the British defeat in 1783, Liele decided to emigrate to Jamaica. He indentured himself to pay his family’s travel expenses. In Jamaica, he built his home near the colonial plantations where slaves from Africa labored. To support his family, he worked as a farmer and transported goods by horse and wagon.
As he had in Georgia, Liele preached the gospel. Soon, he had planted a church near Kingston. As the work grew to the surrounding plantations, Liele recruited men to become preachers and pastors. Under his ministry, the Lord raised up servants from among the slaves and former slaves of Jamaica, including George Gibbs and Moses Baker.
By 1791, Liele reported 500 professions of faith. By 1814 and the belated arrival of the first British missionary to Jamaica, 8,000 slaves had already trusted Christ as their Savior, and many churches dotted the plantations. By 1832, 20,000 in Jamaica would claim the name of Christ.
A Lasting Impact
Ten years before William Carey left Britain for India and twenty-nine years before Adoniram Judson left New England for Burma, Liele left Georgia to reach Jamaica with the gospel. Among a despised and abused people, he faithfully served the Lord in poor physical conditions but with amazing spiritual results.
Liele left behind a shining example for those yearning to be used of God. First, he was willing to do “mean things” for God. In the late eighteenth century, the word mean described low social or economic status. Liele was content to remain poor, working among slaves, to do the Lord’s work. Second, Liele committed to “try and see how good I would do it.” This mindset reflects Colossians 3:23: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”
God continues to defy the odds as He transforms and empowers those whom the world ignores.
Today, God continues to defy the odds as He transforms and empowers those whom the world ignores. He’s seeking humble believers who are willing to serve wherever He leads. As God promises in Ephesians 3:20–21, He can do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
If you prayed, “Lord, give me a work,” what might He ask of you? Would you, like Liele, be willing to serve wherever He leads, regardless of the cost?
Explore the whole book!
For thirty-one days, step back in time and see how God worked in and through men and women like you. Read their stories. Hear their own words. Feel their heartbeat. Experience their struggles. Get closer to their God. Discover the source of their strength in the promises of God’s Word. Daring Devotion taps into the power of truth and testimony. This book will enrich both your personal time with God and your family’s devotional time. Discover more missions stories in the sequel—Daring Dependence.
