Most people
struggle with something. Let’s see if this sounds like the résumé of anyone we
know:
- Olympic-level athleticism
- Einstein-level intelligence
- Always respectful at home—and everywhere else in the world
- Most popular person in their social circles
- On the fast track to success at work or school
- Performance-level musical ability
- Drops what they’re doing at a moment’s notice to help strangers for hours
My first
reaction when reading this list would be: “Reallllly?! What Marvel Comic
character are we talking about? 'Perfect Man'?!
Does he annoy you to death with his ray of obsessive perfectionism? Does
he induce you to surrender by threatening to do a three-hour white-glove test
of all your home’s surfaces?"
This
character doesn’t sound familiar to you? That’s because this paragon of virtue
probably doesn’t exist. Or, if he does, I have yet to meet him. I’m only
familiar with broken, damaged people who have significant challenges in at least one area.
The good
news is that we don’t have to be the most popular Olympic athletic around (who is
also a self-sacrificing rocket scientist playing concerts at Carnegie Hall in
his free time) to be used by God. He takes us as we are. In fact, He uses weak things to confound the wise,
as we are told in 1 Corinthians 1:27
The Bible
“For the Lord does not see as man
sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”—1
Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
The quote above is taken from the story of
when the prophet, Samuel, was directed to choose a new king from among Jesse’s
sons. He had quite a few sons. However, God hadn’t called any of the older,
more “qualified” sons. Samuel was directed to ask Jesse to bring the shepherd,
David, in from the field. David was the youngest and smallest of the family. He
was the least “able”. Yet, he was anointed to be the king of Israel—twenty
years in the future.
David is not
the only case of an ill-equipped person being given responsibilities in the
Bible. Many of the disciples and prophets dealt with a lack of money, academic
training, social standing, and self-confidence.
Some of them also dealt with anger and depression.
Judas
Iscariot was the only disciple with worldly “qualifications”. He was a learned,
respected man from Jerusalem. The other disciples were mainly struggling
workers from the less-valued province of Galilee. Yet, Judas was the one who
betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. This reminds me of a quote I saw
online: “God doesn’t call the qualified, he
qualifies the called”.
My Book
In my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds, I discuss
many examples of prominent people who would not have been expected to succeed
early in their careers: I reference
people who overcame prejudice, such as Jackie Robinson. I mention people who
overcame medical difficulties, such as Teddy Roosevelt and Helen Keller. I also
note individuals who struggled in their careers, such as Henry Ford and
Alexander Graham Bell.
My Conclusion
“God uses imperfect
people for impossible tasks.”—John Paul Warren
People have
different aptitudes; that’s just how we’re made. Throughout history, and the
Bible, the most successful individuals were often those who were least expected
to find success. That’s good news for those of us who struggle with trials
daily.
Though some
of us have a hard time admitting it, none
of us are perfect. But, that’s okay. We don’t have to be perfect to be
loved and accepted by God. God qualifies and strengthens those who he
chooses.
Related Posts
How have you moved beyond perceived limitations?
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