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.
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things –
and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NIV)
One of the privileges of being God’s beloved is that He uses us in ways we never thought possible. Sometimes, He asks His children to do what seems downright impossible. He chose Moses, the stutterer, to speak before the Pharaoh of Egypt. He picked Gideon, a doubter from the weakest clan in Manasseh, to be a military general. He chose a young, teenage virgin who knew nothing of childbearing or childrearing to carry and raise the Son of God.
God is not impressed with our skills, intellectual knowledge, diplomas, or assets. What He desires are hearts willing to serve and obey Him. I’m not condemning academics or knocking that innate desire to succeed. Yet, when we lean too heavily on what we have learned or attained, we tend to rest in our accomplishments rather than give praise to the One who enables us to do all things through His power and grace.
In her book, Walking on Water; Reflections on Faith & Art, Madeleine L’Engle states, “In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”
God uses those very weaknesses that ought to hold us back to glorify His name. Do you have a disability? God can use you. Are you raising a child with a disability? God wants you on His team. Because in God’s sight, your very weakness contains the seeds for greatness.
Thought: “What was once foolishness to us—a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.” – John Piper
For further reading:
- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
- Isaiah 40:29
- Philippians 4:13
- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20