Encouragement in Christ Jesus
THE
WEDNESDAY WORD
Can
God Use You?
D.G.
Miles McKee
A
great warrior was once painted with his hand resting on his face, as
if in contemplation. But the real purpose was to hide an ugly scar on
his cheek.
The German emperor, Wilhelm II, was photographed and painted standing in such a position that his withered arm would not appear.
We all try, to some extent, to disguise our imperfections. However, in the Bible, people are presented just as they are. No scar of deformed character, however hideous, seems to ever be covered up.
This tells us, among other things, that Christ is building His kingdom with broken and flawed people. By contrast, in building their kingdoms, men of this world want only the strong, the successful and the slick. But God is not like that. When choosing His workmen, Christ demonstrates that He is the God of the unsuccessful and the imperfect. He is the God of those who have failed.
The truth is, our strength lies neither in ourselves nor our perfections but in our message. Christ is perfect, the gospel is finished, and it is in the proclamation of this message of Christ crucified that we have power in our ministry [ROMANS 1:16].
He is the God of the flawed, the defective and the damaged.
Take for example;
Moses was a stammerer.
John Mark was a reject who was sent home by Paul.
Timothy had constant stomach problems.
Amos' only training was in how to trim and prune fig trees.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of a servant girl.
Lazarus was dead.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
And so was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah took cold feet and ran away.
Martha was always worrying.
Mary may have been lazy.
Noah got drunk.
Moses was hot-tempered.
We are not an impressive lot, but Jesus is an impressive Saviour. He is superb in who He is and in all that He does. Consider this, He does not usually choose the mighty! ”For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” [I CORINTHIANS 1:26].
The committed Christian, Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791) a mighty English noblewoman said of this scripture, “Blessed be God, it does not say “any mighty,” “any noble”; it says, “many mighty,” “many noble.” She then concluded, “I owe my salvation to the letter “m.”
But back to the main point, the truth is, we are so flawed that each one of us is unworthy to be called into the service of the Lord Jesus. Get used to it, but also know that there is no bruised reed whom Christ cannot restore and heal. Not one of His people has gone beyond His grace. Not one of us is useless.
Is there anything more useless than a piece of bone from a dead donkey? Listen to this. There was once an old, exhausted donkey which just lay down and died. Along came the vultures, foxes and carnivores and picked off chunks of flesh from the dead beast and left it, a skeleton scorching in the flaming sun. Let me ask you, how can God use that donkey? It’s useless.
Then along came Samson and gives us the answer. He needed a weapon with which to destroy God’s enemies. He looked around and found…the dried-up jawbone of that old animal. And with that seemingly useless and worthless jawbone, he slew a thousand Philistines [see JUDGES 15:11–17].
Too many people have told you that you are useless, and that God has finished with you. Oh, and yes, that quiet, accusing, inward voice has continually endorsed that sentiment. But God doesn’t go down to Perfect Street to choose His material. God can and does use the unusable. Have you failed the Lord in the past? Take it to Jesus, confess your sins and then move on with life. You are made righteous by the blood of the lamb! [see ROMANS 5:9; HEBREWS 9:22; I JOHN 1:7; ROMANS 3:25].
If God can use the dead, dried jawbone of an old donkey, He can use you, and He can use me.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
The German emperor, Wilhelm II, was photographed and painted standing in such a position that his withered arm would not appear.
We all try, to some extent, to disguise our imperfections. However, in the Bible, people are presented just as they are. No scar of deformed character, however hideous, seems to ever be covered up.
This tells us, among other things, that Christ is building His kingdom with broken and flawed people. By contrast, in building their kingdoms, men of this world want only the strong, the successful and the slick. But God is not like that. When choosing His workmen, Christ demonstrates that He is the God of the unsuccessful and the imperfect. He is the God of those who have failed.
The truth is, our strength lies neither in ourselves nor our perfections but in our message. Christ is perfect, the gospel is finished, and it is in the proclamation of this message of Christ crucified that we have power in our ministry [ROMANS 1:16].
He is the God of the flawed, the defective and the damaged.
Take for example;
Moses was a stammerer.
John Mark was a reject who was sent home by Paul.
Timothy had constant stomach problems.
Amos' only training was in how to trim and prune fig trees.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of a servant girl.
Lazarus was dead.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
And so was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah took cold feet and ran away.
Martha was always worrying.
Mary may have been lazy.
Noah got drunk.
Moses was hot-tempered.
We are not an impressive lot, but Jesus is an impressive Saviour. He is superb in who He is and in all that He does. Consider this, He does not usually choose the mighty! ”For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” [I CORINTHIANS 1:26].
The committed Christian, Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791) a mighty English noblewoman said of this scripture, “Blessed be God, it does not say “any mighty,” “any noble”; it says, “many mighty,” “many noble.” She then concluded, “I owe my salvation to the letter “m.”
But back to the main point, the truth is, we are so flawed that each one of us is unworthy to be called into the service of the Lord Jesus. Get used to it, but also know that there is no bruised reed whom Christ cannot restore and heal. Not one of His people has gone beyond His grace. Not one of us is useless.
Is there anything more useless than a piece of bone from a dead donkey? Listen to this. There was once an old, exhausted donkey which just lay down and died. Along came the vultures, foxes and carnivores and picked off chunks of flesh from the dead beast and left it, a skeleton scorching in the flaming sun. Let me ask you, how can God use that donkey? It’s useless.
Then along came Samson and gives us the answer. He needed a weapon with which to destroy God’s enemies. He looked around and found…the dried-up jawbone of that old animal. And with that seemingly useless and worthless jawbone, he slew a thousand Philistines [see JUDGES 15:11–17].
Too many people have told you that you are useless, and that God has finished with you. Oh, and yes, that quiet, accusing, inward voice has continually endorsed that sentiment. But God doesn’t go down to Perfect Street to choose His material. God can and does use the unusable. Have you failed the Lord in the past? Take it to Jesus, confess your sins and then move on with life. You are made righteous by the blood of the lamb! [see ROMANS 5:9; HEBREWS 9:22; I JOHN 1:7; ROMANS 3:25].
If God can use the dead, dried jawbone of an old donkey, He can use you, and He can use me.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!
Note:
If
you find the Wednesday Word helpful or encouraging, please take a
moment to drop Miles a note at miles@milesmckee.com
Comments