Do you ever worry you are not equipped for the task God has placed in front of you? I marvel at the wisdom and knowledge displayed by the women in my Bible study group, and I wonder how it came to be the I am the one standing at the front of the room. At home, I open my laptop and wait for the words to flow. A pharmacist-turned-homeschool-mom-turned-writer, I have no English degree, no seminary training. Why would God entrust me with sharing his gospel, even in such a small way?
And then, a glimpse at the lineup of men who penned the Scriptures vividly displays the types of people God entrusts with his message of love and life.
Take Paul. Paul is the author of many beautifully written letters urging fledgling Christians to a deeper, more faithful walk with the Lord. Paul wrote from prison, where he was persecuted for spreading the gospel of Christ. And yet, he himself started out as one of the most ardent persecutors of Christians. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” God did not cast this man aside but used his knowledge of the ancient Hebrew Scriptures to create a bridge from the covenant of the Old Testament to its fulfillment through Jesus Christ.
And then there is the Apostle Peter. Oh, how I love Peter, with his impetuousness and imperfections but also his love and devotion. Peter, the man who denied knowing Jesus three times before the crucifixion, became a rock-solid, tirelessly devoted leader of the early church. Furthermore, this illiterate fisherman was so radically changed by the resurrection of his Lord and Savior that the clear, confident letters he dictated to early believers are included in the New Testament and speak to us yet today.
Friend, don’t ever doubt God’s ability to use you for his glory. He not only wants to use regular people like you and me, but he also commissions us to do his work.
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”
2 Corinthians 5:19-20.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to be ambassadors sharing your gospel message of reconciliation with others. Please don’t allow us to doubt our abilities, but instead, remind us it is you who strengthens and empowers us. Amen.
Inspired by:
Andy Stanley. (2018, October 29) The Bible for Grown-Ups, Part 4: For the World [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/agws_sqVH-E
You’re so right! 🙂 Also reminded me of this section from 1 Corinthians 1
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 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. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Ooh, Nikki, that’s a wonderful verse! Thank you for sharing! Love you!