God Uses Flawed People

“God can’t use me. I’m not smart enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not bold enough. I’m not _______ enough.”

     Have you ever thought this? I have. Fortunately, God doesn’t think like this. There is a remarkable theme found throughout Scripture of the Lord using the most unlikely individuals to accomplish some of the greatest tasks.

Peter was a rough fisherman with an unfortunate tendency to stick his foot in his mouth. When Jesus plainly told his disciples they would all forsake Him, Peter persistently declared he would never do so. Yet, in the hour of Christ’s greatest trial, Peter not only forsook his Lord, but denied Him as well.

Paul (formerly Saul) was one of the early church’s greatest persecutors. He hunted, captured, and tried hundreds of Christians. By Paul’s own admission, he was the chief of sinners.

Moses spoke directly with God out of a burning bush and was given the ability to perform several miracles. But when God commanded him to speak to Pharaoh, Moses insisted he was incapable and ineloquent.

Jonah was sent to preach to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, but fled in the opposite direction instead. After being spewed back in the right direction, he finally delivered God’s message… but became furious when God actually saved the Ninevites.

In the eyes of many, these men were unqualified and unable of ever achieving success. They were fearful, weak, uneducated, spiteful, ineloquent, disobedient – in a word: flawed. Why would God use flawed people to enact His will? Wouldn’t He want those who are skilled and knowledgeable? The answer is in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

God uses the weakest vessels so that His power will be displayed most clearly and so that no one will be able to boast in themselves. That’s why God used Peter, an uneducated fisherman who fled after Christ was arrested, to boldly proclaim the gospel to thousands of antagonistic Jews. That’s why God saved Paul, a zealous Jew and a passionate persecutor of Christians, and caused him to become one of the early church’s greatest apostles. That’s why God called Moses, a murderer who fled Egypt and spent forty years hiding in Midian, to lead the entire nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. That’s why God commanded Jonah, who was decidedly pro-Israel and anti-Assyrian, to preach to the Ninevites, resulting in the salvation of the entire city. None would be able to effectively argue that they accomplished those feats through their own willpower and prowess. They triumphed only through the power of God.

So dear Christian, remember that God can use flawed people. The Lord doesn’t choose those whom the world deems potential stars. The world insists you must be intelligent, eloquent, strong, capable, and bold. However, God delights in using those who are weak, base, and despised. 

The world promotes perfect people. God uses flawed people.

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This is the third and final post in a series on Jonah. To view the previous posts, click below.
Loving Your Enemies
When God's Commands are Unpleasant