The Most Unlikely Person

 

1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV- But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

                God often does or allows circumstances that make absolutely no sense to the human mind. He usually uses the most unlikely person for His own purposes. Sometimes we can feel unworthy of God’s love, His provision, and His Hand on our lives. In fact, we may look at others and ask why God would ever use that person in ministry. We may think they don’t have what it takes or they are not worthy of a high calling from God. On the contrary, God does not see people as we do. “…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1Samuel 16:7).

                Only God knows the heart of a person. He sees when no one else does. He sees when you submit to Him in obedience while everyone else is doing his or her own thing. He sees you worshipping on your lunch break. He sees when you cry alone but praise Him in faith. God sees our hearts. He sees in secret. The Bible says in Matthew 6:4 that, “…your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

                God knew us before the foundations of the earth. He already had a plan for us before we even thought of stepping into the doors of the church. He knew who we would be once He captured our hearts.  Look at the disciples He chose to work with Him in ministry. He was around these people every day. These were his friends. Matthew, who was a tax collector walked with God. A tax collector was a shameful profession in biblical times. They would take advantage of the people by taking what they had unjustly. However, with no hesitation, Jesus desired to use Him greatly. Peter, who was hot-tempered and denied Jesus three times was used to perform miracles and preach to the Good News. Saul later known as Paul was well known for killing, beating, and torturing Christians. But without Paul, we wouldn’t have almost half of the New Testament. Lastly look whom God chose to be the parents of Jesus Christ. They were young and underprivileged, but obedient to God. I can go on and on about the people that God used in the Bible to accomplish great things. He has always done this and will continue to use people that we don’t think are “worthy.”

                You may not feel worthy of the calling that God has placed on your heart but you are worthy in Christ Jesus. Jesus has made us worthy of any call by God. You may have been a drug addict but God is calling you. You may have slept with more people than you’d care to admit, but God is calling you. You may drink more alcohol than you eat food but God is still calling you. The guy dealing drugs on the corner can be used to save thousands of souls one day. The prophetess that you see today could have been the young lady that slept around the neighborhood yesterday. God can pour out His Spirit on anyone at anytime. Peter in Acts 10:34 said, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.” He can use the man that went to Harvard and the man that never graduated high school to do the same job.  

                The bottom line is don’t be discouraged because of your background or where you came from. Don’t disqualify yourself by thinking that your past has anything to do with your future. He uses the most unlikely person to show His power and His strength. It is His glory that will be revealed in you. This is done so that others may know and believe that He is the Living God.

1 Corinthians 1:27, MSG -Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”