"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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:11-13
My favorite Christmas special has always been Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for a variety of reasons. Great characters (Bumbles especially), a wonderful story, and great animation for the 1960's. If you've never seen it, and shame on you if you haven't, relates the story of characters who don't necessarily fit in and feel shunned by society. There's Rudolph who has a red nose and Hermie the elf that doesn't like making toys but would rather be a dentist. They leave to find their place in society.
They end up meeting a large group on the Island of Misfit Toys. It is a place for toys that don't fit in or are unloved. If you remember there were many toys: a train with square wheels, a cowboy on an ostrich, Charlie in the box, a crying doll, and a pink spotted elephant to name just a few. They all lived on this island because they did not fit in. It was a group who waited each Christmas to be sent to a home but never were. They were a group without hope or a future. They could not be used for their intended purpose they thought.
Aren't we all like this in our walk with the Lord? We feel that we are incapable of performing ministries or being used by God because we are different or don't fit a particular mold. For me, I don't feel well-versed in the bible and I am frightened being in front of a group of people. Others can feel like failures or have struggled with addictions and think they are unusable. Some can think that they aren't leadership material or are not blessed with certain skill sets so they retreat into the background. We feel like misfits ourselves - unusable and unloved. Unable to see past our "flaws" and think we serve no purpose in God's kingdom. The first argument is right - we are not good enough. The second is false that we thus cannot serve properly. It all depends on where our strength lies, with God or with ourselves.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" Ephesians 2: 8-10.
As it explicitly points out here, our salvation does not come from our own strength. We cannot advance the kingdom with our own abilities. So, to say we are exempt or unable to be used in the kingdom because of our flaws is only partially true in so far as we cant do it ourselves. But, God calls each and every one of us.
Even the best preachers, writers, disciples, worship leaders, and teachers you can think of are also flawed human beings. Yet, they followed God's call for their life and were equipped for service. They trusted in God's power and goodness to see them along the path they were called to. If we believe that God uses flawed human beings, then our arguments against us being involved are at best inaccurate. There is nothing that says God cant use us for amazing things. He doesn't look at our outward abilities and our "strengths" (which by the way are gifts from God). God looks at our hearts. This should give us joy - that this whole thing is not dependent on us. If it were it would fail miserably. Thank goodness it doesn't depend on you or me.
So, here we are a bunch of misfits with all of our weaknesses and warts. It doesn't stop God in any way. He loves us all and leads us to paths we would never consider or choose. And, God gives us the strength or grace to help us reach His goal.
Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
We don't have to fall into the trap of relying on ourselves. We have our strengths and weaknesses, and God is not stopped by either. We use the gifts God has given us in serving Him, and He gets us through the places where our weaknesses stop us. It helps us to place our eyes on God, rather than ourselves. If we are lucky, we may find that what we thought were weaknesses can develop into strengths. Maybe it was our fears getting in the way, blinding us to the gifts we already had thanks to God. God gives us the opportunities to discover them. I know in my own life that I had talents I was unaware of until I trusted to let God take the reins of my life. Trust God rather than yourself.
So, my fellow misfits on our island of misfit toys - I hope you realize that you have a purpose. No matter how young or old, rich or poor - you serve a purpose. Your life matters and you matter. Don't wallow in your fears, guilt, and weaknesses. Turn them over to God, and trust in Him. You may end up surprised at what happens.
My favorite Christmas special has always been Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for a variety of reasons. Great characters (Bumbles especially), a wonderful story, and great animation for the 1960's. If you've never seen it, and shame on you if you haven't, relates the story of characters who don't necessarily fit in and feel shunned by society. There's Rudolph who has a red nose and Hermie the elf that doesn't like making toys but would rather be a dentist. They leave to find their place in society.
They end up meeting a large group on the Island of Misfit Toys. It is a place for toys that don't fit in or are unloved. If you remember there were many toys: a train with square wheels, a cowboy on an ostrich, Charlie in the box, a crying doll, and a pink spotted elephant to name just a few. They all lived on this island because they did not fit in. It was a group who waited each Christmas to be sent to a home but never were. They were a group without hope or a future. They could not be used for their intended purpose they thought.
Aren't we all like this in our walk with the Lord? We feel that we are incapable of performing ministries or being used by God because we are different or don't fit a particular mold. For me, I don't feel well-versed in the bible and I am frightened being in front of a group of people. Others can feel like failures or have struggled with addictions and think they are unusable. Some can think that they aren't leadership material or are not blessed with certain skill sets so they retreat into the background. We feel like misfits ourselves - unusable and unloved. Unable to see past our "flaws" and think we serve no purpose in God's kingdom. The first argument is right - we are not good enough. The second is false that we thus cannot serve properly. It all depends on where our strength lies, with God or with ourselves.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" Ephesians 2: 8-10.
As it explicitly points out here, our salvation does not come from our own strength. We cannot advance the kingdom with our own abilities. So, to say we are exempt or unable to be used in the kingdom because of our flaws is only partially true in so far as we cant do it ourselves. But, God calls each and every one of us.
Even the best preachers, writers, disciples, worship leaders, and teachers you can think of are also flawed human beings. Yet, they followed God's call for their life and were equipped for service. They trusted in God's power and goodness to see them along the path they were called to. If we believe that God uses flawed human beings, then our arguments against us being involved are at best inaccurate. There is nothing that says God cant use us for amazing things. He doesn't look at our outward abilities and our "strengths" (which by the way are gifts from God). God looks at our hearts. This should give us joy - that this whole thing is not dependent on us. If it were it would fail miserably. Thank goodness it doesn't depend on you or me.
So, here we are a bunch of misfits with all of our weaknesses and warts. It doesn't stop God in any way. He loves us all and leads us to paths we would never consider or choose. And, God gives us the strength or grace to help us reach His goal.
Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
We don't have to fall into the trap of relying on ourselves. We have our strengths and weaknesses, and God is not stopped by either. We use the gifts God has given us in serving Him, and He gets us through the places where our weaknesses stop us. It helps us to place our eyes on God, rather than ourselves. If we are lucky, we may find that what we thought were weaknesses can develop into strengths. Maybe it was our fears getting in the way, blinding us to the gifts we already had thanks to God. God gives us the opportunities to discover them. I know in my own life that I had talents I was unaware of until I trusted to let God take the reins of my life. Trust God rather than yourself.
So, my fellow misfits on our island of misfit toys - I hope you realize that you have a purpose. No matter how young or old, rich or poor - you serve a purpose. Your life matters and you matter. Don't wallow in your fears, guilt, and weaknesses. Turn them over to God, and trust in Him. You may end up surprised at what happens.
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