There are many reasons why God shouldn’t have called you.
But don’t worry. You’re in good company . . .
Moses stuttered.
David’s armour didn’t fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Hosea’s wife was a prostitute.
Amos’ only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Jesus was too poor.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah was burnt out.
John the Baptist was a loudmouth.
Martha was a worry-wart.
Mary was lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
So did Peter, Paul — well, lots of folks did.
But God doesn’t require a job interview.
He doesn’t hire and fire like most bosses, because He’s more our Dad than our
Boss. He doesn’t look at financial gain or loss. He’s not prejudiced or
partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not
blind to our need. As much as we try, God’s gifts are free. We could do
wonderful things for wonderful people and still not be . . . Wonderful. Satan
says, “You’re not worthy.” Jesus says, “So what?
. . I AM.” Satan looks back and sees our mistakes. God looks back and sees
the cross. He doesn’t calculate what you did in ’98. It’s not even on the
record. Sure. There are lots of reasons why God shouldn’t have called us. But
if we are magically in love with Him, if we hunger for Him more than our next
breath, He’ll use us in spite of who we are, where we’ve been, or what we look
like. Pray that as Christians, we will step out of our
limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is. Then our passion for God
and our passion to communicate with Him will make mincemeat of our limitations.
