God Uses Ordinary People

Friends, 

The current series of the Adult Quarterly Sunday School curriculum is taking us through the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. The lessons have been interesting and somewhat challenging for me because of my lack of familiarity with these books. But, learning more and more about the way God interacts with and preserves the Israelites has also been helpful for all the members of our adult class. We know that God works in our lives just as he did in those days, for He never changes. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

The last two weeks, we've studied Deborah and Barak as well as Gideon, and in the next two weeks, we'll study Jephthah and Samson respectively. Their stories are among the best of the Old Testament. Deborah and Barak deliver Israel from Jabin, king of Canaan and his general Sisera. Gideon slays the Midianites in a most unusual battle. Jephthah rose from a scandalous background to lead Israel out of the hand of the Ammonites only to find that he had to give up his daughter to the Lord because of a foolish vow he made. And, Samson freed the Israelites from the mighty Philistines after he was betrayed by his bedeviled lover Delilah. 

In addition to their unusual backgrounds and their heroic efforts to deliver God's people from their enemies, these judges had a common faith in God. The author of Hebrews mentions them as a group in his Hall of Fame of Faith because they all "through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, [and] obtained promises" (Heb. 11:33). This fascinates me because of the way that the Book of Judges describes each of them. Deborah was a woman forced into a leadership role because no one else was willing to stand up for the kingdom. Barak was her general who fought reluctantly at her request. Gideon had such weak faith that he needed seven signs from God, including a random dream and its interpretation from the enemy soldiers, before he would do what God had called him to do. Jephthah was the illegitimate son of a prostitute who was kicked out of his homeland by his jealous stepbrothers, and while in a foreign land became quite an unsavory character. And, Samson was so taken by his love for a woman that he fell into her trap by revealing the secret of his strength to her, leaving him bald and imprisoned for a time in a Philistine camp. 

None of these judges were special in themselves. In fact, they all had significant issues in their personalities and backgrounds; yet, God was able to use them to accomplish His purposes for His glory. The same is true for you and me. We are far from perfect and may have things in our lives or backgrounds that we think disqualify us from being used by God. But, that is simply not true. The Lord can and does use the unlikeliest of people to advance His kingdom for His glory. That's the way He likes it. Seriously. If we posses all the gifts and tools needed within ourselves, then people could miss His work in our lives. However, if our inadequacies are clear, there is no way anyone can mistake His work or His glory.  

So, be encouraged that God can and will use you to accomplish His will if you will trust Him to do it. Also, be bold enough to let Him use you. There is blessing in giving yourself to Him and being a part of His work to restore the world to Himself. 

In Christ,
Clint