God’s greatest works often begin with the least likely people
“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…that no flesh should glory in his presence.”
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (KJV)
I recently saw a video about a woman who suffered from polio back in the 1950s. Her pastor came to pray with her. He then informed her that she should no longer attend church because others were afraid of contracting the disease. Wanting to continue serving the Lord, she asked him to pray that God would show her what she could still do.
His response broke my heart. He told her, “God is finished with you. You’re too damaged for Him to use.” Imagine the devastation. Perhaps you already have…
I imagine there are many of us who have looked at our present situation and quietly reached that same conclusion. Perhaps no one has spoken those cruel words aloud, but we whisper them to ourselves.
“I’m too ordinary.”
“I’ve failed too many times.”
“I’m too old.”
“I’m too damaged.”
“My story is over.”
If that’s what you’ve been led to believe, I have wonderful news. The Bible is filled with ordinary, flawed, and damaged people whom God not only forgave but used in extraordinary ways. In fact, if God only used perfect people, there would be very few names recorded in Scripture.
God has never measured our usefulness by our ability. He measures it by our availability—their willingness to trust Him and obey. And even when our trust is feeble and our obedience wavers, He who orders our steps, always has a plan for us.
God’s Unlikely Heroes
When we think of the heroes of the Bible, it’s easy to imagine people of extraordinary faith and courage. Perhaps we think of the story of David or Esther. Maybe even Daniel. But look a little closer, and a different picture begins to emerge.
Gideon saw himself as the least of the least. Even after God called him, he tore down his father’s altar under the cover of darkness because he was afraid. Yet God called him a “mighty man of valor” before Gideon ever believed it himself.
Moses insisted he wasn’t the right man because he wasn’t a gifted speaker. God wasn’t looking for eloquence. He was looking for obedience.
Rahab had a past that most people would have considered disqualifying. God saw a heart of faith and included her in the very lineage of Jesus Christ.
Peter, one of the most promising disciples, boldly declared he would never deny Jesus, yet only hours after Jesus was arrested, he denied even knowing Him three times. He must have thought his ministry was over. But Jesus lovingly restored him, and the fearful disciple became one of the boldest leaders of the early Church.
In the modern day, anyone in these situations would’ve been labeled and cast aside. Weak. Coward. Sinner. Traitor. But the Good Shepherd knows each of them as only one thing: His children. They are loved, and they are valuable to His purpose.
“But how can I be useful?” you may ask. “How, in my current state or position, be valuable?” I understand the feeling. When an active ministry gradually came to an end, I found myself wondering if my usefulness to God had ended as well.
For nearly fifty years, music ministry was my identity. Playing the piano, organ, and keyboard brought me tremendous joy. I cherished every opportunity to use music to bless others.
Then, little by little, that ministry began to slip away as my eyesight faded.
Night blindness limited my ability to drive after sunset. Eventually I surrendered the independence of driving altogether. Macular degeneration stole my ability to read printed music, other printed text, and even recognize faces. It felt as though pieces of my life were being taken away one by one until all that remained were scraps of what had once been. I had adapted but it was not the same. There was a time where I felt I could reach the corners of the globe. Now I stay in place as the earth spins beneath me.
It was easy to believe I had lost not only my ministry, but also my usefulness.
Yet God had other intentions.
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
He had not thrown me on the trash heap. He still had something for me to do for His glory—even with the scraps I believed I had left.
I never planned to write a memoir. The only thing I had ever considered writing was a revision of my master’s thesis for publication. Never did I imagine pouring out my life story—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Nor did I ever imagine starting a blog. Creating Hope in the Journey was not my idea. I knew nothing about blogging except how to read one. Yet the desire to share my struggles, my valleys, and—most importantly—God’s faithfulness would not leave me alone.
As always, my Good Shepherd simply led me one step at a time. There was no complete roadmap. No detailed agenda. Just enough light for the next step.
Learning the three platforms required to publish a blog became one of the most frustrating challenges I had faced in years. Then one day I looked back and realized something. God had been preparing me decades earlier.
Back in the mid-1970s, He unexpectedly opened doors for me to learn technology. At the time, I had no idea those skills would one day become essential to a ministry that didn’t even exist yet. Little did I know that such technology would evolve to reshape how we minister to this very day.
It reminded me of the movie The Karate Kid. Daniel couldn’t understand why Mr. Miyagi kept having him wax cars, paint fences, and sand floors. Those endless chores seemed meaningless—until the day he discovered every one of them had been preparing him for the challenge ahead.
God often works the same way. Looking back, I can now see that many of my valleys, disappointments, unexpected detours, and even the skills I learned were not wasted. God was quietly developing my faith, teaching me lessons, and preparing me for opportunities I never could have imagined.
Only when we look back do we often recognize that God’s preparation was hidden within our ordinary days and our difficult seasons. How much easier it is to trust Him when we realize He has been preparing us all along.
God Was Changing Me, Too
God wasn’t only preparing me with new skills. He was also changing me.
I’ve always related to Gideon. Not because he was fearless, but because he wasn’t. Even after God called him, Gideon obeyed under the cover of darkness because he was afraid. God didn’t wait until Gideon conquered his fear before using him. He honored Gideon’s willingness to obey in spite of it.
For many years, I understood that kind of fear. I loved the Lord, but witnessing to someone else? Not on your life! Inviting someone to church was about as far as I was willing to go. Fear—and a secret shame I carried for years—kept me quiet.
Somewhere along this new journey, God began replacing my fear with a boldness I never possessed on my own. It wasn’t because I suddenly became confident in myself. It was because I became confident in Him.
Today, I hardly recognize that timid woman. Instead of looking for reasons to remain silent, I find myself looking for opportunities to tell others about the goodness and faithfulness of God. I can’t seem to stop talking about what He has done. His faithfulness has been too great and too personal to keep to myself.
God doesn’t simply use unlikely people. He transforms them along the way. Not all at once. Not dramatically. But faithfully over time.
When I look back over my life, I don’t see someone who always had great faith or courage. I see a Good Shepherd who faithfully led an ordinary woman one step at a time until one day she looked back and realized,
“Look what God can do over a lifetime.”
If my story encourages you, I hope it isn’t because of anything remarkable about me. It is because of what God can do through an ordinary person who has stumbled, failed, resisted Him at times, and yet discovered that His grace was always greater.
God Isn’t Finished with You Yet!
Perhaps today you feel ordinary. Or too flawed. Too damaged. Too old. Or you’ve quietly convinced yourself that God is finished with you.
Don’t believe it.
The God who called Gideon, strengthened Moses, redeemed Rahab, and restored Peter is still calling ordinary people today. He still has plans for your life, and He is still working in and through you for His purposes.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6 (KJV)
Closing Blessing
May you trust the God who sees beyond your fears, your failures, your limitations, and your past. May He give you the courage to take the next step He places before you, confident that the One who began His work in you will faithfully complete it—in His time and for His glory.
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Book: Hope in the Journey: From Shattered Dreams to Something Beautiful Link: heordere