God deliberately selects those that the world writes off. He chooses men and women that others deem to be insignificant, He picks people that others treat with contempt.
The amplified version of the Bible puts 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 like this:
“God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing…”
You remember that Israel went through cycles throughout the Old Testament. They would seek God, get blessed then in their success, they would drift away into sin. God would withhold His blessing and as a result they would be attacked by their enemies. They would hit rock bottom, repent and the Lord would send them a deliver.
During one of those terrible times, the children of Israel cried out to God in repentance and the Bible says:
“So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.” Judges 10:16
It pains God when you are hurting. It moves Him to the core to see you suffer. It reached the point in this story when God could no longer handle seeing His people in pain. So He chose a special man to save His precious people from the onslaught of the enemy.
God’s choice
The man he chose was called Jephthah. Son of a whore, this young man was never accepted by his half brothers. He grew up with the stigma and shame of knowing he was conceived in sin. We don’t know if he even knew his biological mother. We do know that his father did not defend him when it mattered the most: Jephthah was driven out of his home by his brothers who also cut him off from their inheritance.
The young man fled and soon started to hang around with the wrong people. Sometimes when we have been rejected, we become desperate to belong. Probably in his desire for a surrogate family, he joined a gang who went around raiding and robbing.
He sees your heart
God does not look at your behaviour alone. He does not evaluate your worth based on any mess-ups or mistakes. God looks at your heart. When the Lord looked at this young man, He saw a might warrior who could become a leader. He saw His son – a man with a hurting heart that He could heal.
We are too quick to write ourselves off because of human flaws or failings. However, God specialises in restoration. He loves to take someone that has nothing and give them something very special. He loves to take someone who sees themselves as soiled and raise them up sanctified.
Feeling soiled
When I was in my twenties, I backslid. I went to all the wrong places with all the wrong people and did many wrong things. When I rededicated my life to the Lord, I felt like a fraud. I should have known better but I had behaved very badly anyway. I believed I was spoilt. I could not imagine that God would want to use me. How wrong I was.
I used to be an interim manager. I would be hired by major companies during times of transition or difficulty. My favourite type of contract was when a company was in crisis. I could go in and very quickly make a big difference. It was in those circumstances when I would really shine.
It’s the same with you and me. When we allow God to use us despite out shortcomings, He really gets the glory. He chooses those of us who are foolish or weak because when we become strong or wise, it can only be God!
Chosen
The Lord wants you to know that He has chosen you. According to Ephesians 1:4, He chose us before He laid the foundations of the world. That means that before He ever said: “Let there be light”, you were already in His heart. Before He placed the stars in the sky, He had designed you in His Spirit. Don’t let the world write you off anymore. You were brought into the kingdom for such a time as this.
If you want to be free from shame and guilt so that you can fulfil your purpose, I encourage you to order one of my books: 30 Day Detox for your Soul from Amazon. There are several days dedicated to these topics. Also, come to Healed for Life, our transformational event that helps get you ready for your destiny. See jonaughton.com for details
