ESOCS Devotional 27 April 2026 – The Lord Needs Them
MEMORY VERSE: “If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” Matthew 21:3 NIV
TEXT: MATTHEW 21:1-17
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
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As Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem in what we now call the Triumphal Entry, He instructed two disciples to go and untie a donkey and its colt. If anyone questioned them, they were to say: “The Lord needs them.”
What a powerful phrase, “The Lord has need.” Not because He lacks anything but because He chooses to involve us in His divine purposes. He could have entered Jerusalem any way He wished, but He chose to ride on a humble donkey, a simple, unglamorous animal. He used people, ordinary people, to carry out the task.
This tells us something vital: No resource is too small, no person too ordinary, and no act too insignificant when placed in the hands of the Master.
You may think what you have, your time, your gifts, your voice, your availability, is too little to matter. But when the Lord requires it, and you release it to Him, He turns the ordinary into something holy and world-changing.
Reflections
- What resources or abilities do you have that the Lord might be asking you to surrender for His use?
- Are you holding anything back from God because it feels too small or unimportant?
- How does it change your perspective to know that God chooses to need and use what you have?
- What would it look like today to respond immediately when you sense God prompting you to act or give?
Action Step
Pray and ask the Lord to show you something, big or small, that He wants to use for His glory. It could be an act of service, a possession to give, a word of encouragement, or simply your time. Then offer it freely, saying in your heart: “Lord, You need this. I give it to You.”
Prayer
- Lord, thank you that you choose to use what is ordinary for extraordinary purposes.
- Help me to be willing and available when you call.
- Teach me not to underestimate what I have, and to gladly surrender it to you.
- Whatever you need from me today, Lord, I give it. Use it for your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Further Reading: Exodus 11:1-10; Ezekiel 1:4-14; Acts 15:35-End
ESOCS Devotional 27 April 2026
