Do you ever wonder if God can use you? Do you ever wonder if what God has asked you to do really even matters to anyone else? I do. I look at my past and even sometimes, my present, and say, “How in the world can God use that, this, me?”
Do you ever look at your situation and wonder why that happened to you when you didn’t do anything to cause it? Do you ever wonder why in the world you DID what you did that caused your situation? I am guilty of both. Boy, I didn’t like admitting that.
There have been many times in my life when life happened to me. I don’t mean to say God didn’t have a plan the whole time or anything like that. I just mean that things happened to me that I did NOTHING to cause, but I had to pay the price anyway. You know, like Jesus giving his life on the cross for the sins of OTHERS. He didn’t deserve that, but he paid that price. Like Joseph, whose brothers threw him in a pit to die and then sold him, and then he was put in jail because Potiphar’s wife made false accusations against him. Years of his life were spent paying for what OTHERS did, BUT God used that!
There have also been many times in my life when I created my own battles. It started with one thing then another that led to another and another. By the time I was done, the only way out was by the Grace of God! Then, of course, I had to live with the consequences of my actions. Much like David. He saw Bathsheba and wanted her. He sent for her and they were intimate and then she became pregnant. Now, note to selves, this could have all been avoided if when David saw her, he would have done the right thing, but he didn’t. When she became pregnant he had to do something to cover what he had done so he sent her husband to the front line so that he would surely die fighting. He did. David kept Bathsheba as his wife. Not only Did they lose their child, David lost 4 sons. He also lost the respect of his people and his reputation was ruined.
But look at God! He took this mess that David made and blessed it. From David and Bathsheba was born, Solomon. The name means “peace.” Fitting for the peace after a storm I suppose. Solomon became the next king and was also blessed to be an ancestor of the Messiah. Good still came from the mess that David himself made.
God used the man who was in a mess due to none of his own fault AND the man who made a mess of all messes!. If God can use them I know he can use me and you.
I attend a women’s Bible study Group and sometimes I wonder if the ladies who lead the group realize how much we grow thru this blessing they offer to us. I will be super honest here, we have a TON of fun, but a few years ago I wouldn’t have been able to tell you all about Joseph, David, Rachel, Leah, Gomer, Jonah, Esther, Solomon, Bathsheba, Moses, Jacob, Daniel, or any of the other greats in the Bible. I wouldn’t have been able to walk you thru the Bible as we learned to do in the study called “Seamless”. Sure I could have given you a childlike jist from what you learn growing up or from watching hours and hours of veggie tales as my kids grew up. I knew I was named after Rachel in the Bible, but didn’t know her story.
So when you wonder if God can use you, the answer is YES! When you wonder if your work matters, the answer is YES! It doesn’t matter your circumstance. It doesn’t matter if you feel like it matters. IT DOES! I am so thankful for the women’s group because it is where I learn the most! I makes me dig in my Bible and ask questions and get interested in the stories. Thank you ladies, for leading us and helping us grow.
So I guess what I am saying in a long, rabbit trail sort of way, is that God can use ALL of us! That is so refreshing! God can use me! And to the ladies in the women’s group, God is using you to help mold me. Thank you for showing up!
itsagodthang 