It’s a story as old as Scripture itself—God calls the unlikely, the overlooked, the rejected, and uses them in ways no one would have imagined. Paul himself wrote, "I knew a man..." speaking as if of another, yet most believe he was speaking of himself (2 Corinthians 12:2-5). Similarly, I knew a man. A man who was not perfect and was not born with a perfect silver ministry spoon in his mouth. A man some rejected, attacked, overlooked, and dismissed, but whom God used anyway—despite them and himself.
Let me speak to you for a moment about this "man."
The Power of Struggle
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Struggle is often the training ground for ministry. This man I knew endured struggles in ministry that would have broken many. Yet, rather than running, he remained. Through those trials, God was shaping him into someone who could comfort and strengthen others. Maze Jackson was once asked by someone if he had ever "been through the fire." At the time, Bro. Maze was a younger preacher and he hadn't had much struggle. The man told him, "God will never really use you, until you've been through the fire." When Bro. Maze told this story, later in life, he said, "I wish that I could talk to the man today, and tell him, 'I've been through the fire.'" There is a unique authority that comes from having “been there.”
The Lord’s Sense of Humor
Many who serve the Lord know the feeling—God calls them to a task that seems contradictory to their qualifications. It is almost as if He has a sense of humor in His choices. Paul wrote 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."
This man was not the polished, celebrated leader that people naturally gravitate toward. Many dismissed him, yet God chose him. God seems to delight in using people who feel (or are) inadequate, because it points to His strength and sufficiency rather than ours. There are different kinds of success. God’s strength was magnified through his weaknesses, and his perseverance, trust, and reliance on God bore fruit in ways that only Heaven will fully reveal.
God’s Purpose in Weakness
Moses, the man that messed up pretty badly (uh, murder) argued with God about his calling. Gideon hid while being called a “mighty man of valor.” Jephthah, far from a "perfect" specimen, was the outcast son of a harlot...and yet God used him. Peter was brash and unpredictable. He even cursed and denied the Lord Jesus, and yet God somehow loved him through it and found a place of usefulness for him. Paul had a history that should have disqualified him in the eyes of many. But God sees differently than men.
This man I knew was far from perfect—he knew his shortcomings well. Yet, the very things that others saw as weaknesses made him the right man for the job. God often uses the broken, the humbled, and the unexpected to do His greatest work.
Though not outwardly stupendously successful in the traditional sense, this man cultivated a deep dependence on God and a compassionate heart for struggling people and churches, the underdogs of life and ministry. God equipped him in ways he did not fully understand at the time, but God knew the end from the beginning, and He molded and fashioned the clay as He thought best.
The Evidence of Faithfulness
This man had no grand accolades. He wasn't jockeying for position or climbing a ladder. His ministry was not filled with impressive numbers or widespread recognition. But what he had was faithfulness. He had a tenacity that was no doubt God-given. He labored faithfully where God placed him. He was actually very talented and gifted in certain areas. He endured when others walked away. He shepherded those whom others had given up on, or overlooked. He was a cheerleader for others in the work of the ministry, always encouraging others to keep after it! That is the kind of success that matters in God’s economy. His faithfulness was not wasted—it was poured out in the lives of people who needed someone who understood, someone who wouldn’t quit, someone who could stand as a testimony that God doesn’t need the biggest, the best, or the brightest—He just needs the willing. In fact, this man's work, developed through all of the difficulties, continues to bless others today.
God’s Timing and Plan
God’s ways are not our ways. His timing often does not align with our expectations. Success, as defined by men, is not always success in God’s eyes. Paul reminded the Corinthians that one plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7). The impact of this man’s ministry may not have been fully realized in his lifetime. Sometimes God's purpose in a person's life even blossoms after that person is dead and in Heaven. But God does not waste faithfulness. The seeds sown through endurance, through struggle, through obedience—those seeds bear fruit in God’s time and in God’s way.
So, I knew a man. A man sometimes overlooked, rejected, and underestimated by many. A man some sought to sideline. But God led him and used him. Not because of his greatness, but because of God’s. Not because of his strength, but because of God’s power made perfect in weakness. If God calls the unlikely, what does that say to those who feel unworthy, inadequate, or cast aside? What does it say to those who act as though they are superior specimens of ministry power and prowess? It says exactly what Scripture has always said—The call of God, itself, is not based on a human being who qualifies it or approves it. God's call is based on His purpose. And when He calls, He equips. And when He equips, He uses. And we must all remember the passage found in I Corinthians 10:12.
You may feel that you know who I am speaking about, but you probably don't. Maybe I am speaking of one person or a composite of people I have known. Actually, I have written this in a way hoping that you might even see yourself here!
So to those who feel overlooked—perhaps you are exactly who God is looking for.
1 Samuel 16:1–12
And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. 7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
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