God Wants to Use You

All of Us Are Messed Up

God always uses imperfect people to work his will. Looking at Jesus' ancestors (Matthew 1:1-17), you can see that he didn't come from a group of people that were perfect as he was. He came from people that had PROBLEMS; people that were IMPERFECT. No matter what name you choose from the list of his ancestors, you will find many problems with them. Jesus came from a messed up family. It's no different from the messed up family that we have come from. The greatest person on the list of Jesus' ancestors was probably King David. He was a man that was after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). He took out a man that was over 9 feet tall with a sling and a stone (1 Samuel 17:49). He was only 30 years old when he became a king (2 Samuel 5:4). Even with all these accomplishments and the mighty favor that he had from God, David still had a messy life. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11).

Judah, another ancestor of Jesus, had a child with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who he thought was a prostitute (Genesis 38). Salmon married Rahab, who was a prostitute (Joshua 6). Jacob deceived his father Isaac in order to get the blessing that was meant for his older brother Esau (Genesis 27). Looking beyond Jesus’ lineage you’ll find many more examples of messed up people that were used by God. Moses had a speech impediment (Exodus 4:10), but God still used him to lead a whole nation out of Egypt (Exodus 14). Samson lusted after women and even lost all of his strength, but God still used him to kill 3,000 Philistines (Judges 16). Paul persecuted Christians (Acts 8:3), but God changed his heart and he went on to write a large portion of the New Testament (Acts 9). The list goes on. All of us are jacked up. None of us are righteous  (Romans 3:10-18).

God Wants to Use You

Despite these failures, we can still be used by God. This is one of the things that makes the story of Jesus so beautiful. We enter into this world messy. We are born sinners. But Jesus gives us hope. No matter how messed up we are, he still wants us. He still desires to use us for his glory. The one addicted to pornography? He wants to use you. The single mother with five kids? He wants to use you. The homosexual? He wants to use you. The one that dropped out of college? He wants to use you. The one that gets wasted every weekend? He wants to use you. The one that molested a little girl? He wants to use you.

The one that hates black people? He wants to use you. The one that isn't in their child's life? He wants to use you. The one that’s battling cancer? He wants to use you. The one that's lazy? He wants to use you. The one with the anger problem? He wants to use you. The one that has no money? He wants to use you. No matter your past or the circumstances that you’re currently in, God wants to use you. You may be an outcast to the world, but you’re a friend to Jesus. You may be considered trash to everyone you encounter, but to Jesus you’re precious treasure. How beautiful would it be for the one that molested the little girl to open up a home for former sex slaves? Or for the one that hates black people to end up adopting an Ethiopian baby? How beautiful would that be? Don't dwell in your imperfections; give it to God. Then he will take on the task of perfecting you.