A newborn slept soundly in a manger outside of an inn in Bethlehem. He was surrounded by animals. His mother and father were nearby, exhausted from their trek to the Bethlehem and the baby’s birth. Later, we would find out that this newborn, Jesus, was the Messiah. The world’s Savior was born humbly in a manger.
Jesus grew up in a town called Nazareth. Not many people liked this town—there was a saying that went, “Nothing good comes from Nazareth.” Yet God’s son, the very definition of good, was raised in Nazareth.
As the boy born in a manger grew up, He practiced humility. He valued learning from others, and one time, stayed behind his parents on a trip so He could learn from teachers in Jerusalem. He asked the teachers questions and gained understanding.
Jesus was God in human form. He was there at the beginning of the Earth. Yet He respected the teachers and valued their knowledge.
Later, when Jesus was a grown man, He rode through the streets on a young donkey. The people of the town stood on the sides of the road waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!” They honored Jesus. But Jesus didn’t ride a great steed, trying to impress the people—He chose to ride a colt.
When Jesus died on the cross a few days later, He humbled Himself beyond measure. He chose to take on our sin so we could be saved. He chose to bear humiliation and pain so that we, who had betrayed Him, could have eternal life.
Our Savior was born in unlikely circumstances and lived an unlikely life. But He was the most important man in all of history.
There are so many other stories in the Bible where God chooses an unlikely candidate or unlikely circumstances to be part of His plan. Just look at Jeremiah, David, or Moses.
When Jeremiah the prophet was called by God, He was only a youth—probably in his teens. He was nervous to be a prophet because of his age, but God told him, “‘Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” (Jeremiah 1:7-8). Jeremiah’s perceived disadvantage was not a restraint in God’s eyes.
Timothy, a teacher in the New Testament, was also young when he was called by God. Yet God chose Him to teach and lead a church—a church that probably included people who were older than Him. In spite of his youth, Timothy was chosen to “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, [and] in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
David was the youngest of his brothers. And instead of being sent off to fight like his brothers, he was put to work sheperding sheep. Yet he later showed that, by God’s power, he could fight better than any of his siblings could. The lowly sheperd boy won a battle against a giant, and was later made the King of Israel.
God used Jonah to preach to the Ninevites so they could be saved from destruction. But Jonah hated the Ninevites. So much that he didn’t want them to be saved and disobeyed God when he was commanded to warn them. But because of God, Jonah eventually went to the Ninevites and warned them of coming judgement. The Ninevites repented and were spared. God used Jonah in spite of what might have seemed like disqualifications.
Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, wasn’t good at speaking in front of crowds. This unconfident, stammering man was expected to lead a nation. But God made it work—He assigned Moses’s brother to help Moses, and they were able to lead the Israelites together.
One of Jesus’s disciples, Matthew, was a former tax collector. Tax collectors were known for being sinful and unfair. Yet Matthew was chosen to follow a sinless man and change the world for the better.
Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, persecuted Christians for a long time. That didn’t stop God from changing him and using him for His plan.
God likes to use unlikely people.
You might think, “I have no extraordinary talents. God isn’t going to use me in something big.”
However, God doesn’t need us to be perfect to use us. If it is in God’s will to use us, He will use us. If God chooses you to help in His plan (which, if you’re a Christian, He has chosen you), it’s not by your own power that you’re able to help. It’s by God’s power.
God uses our weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul wrote, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
When we think we are strong, we are at our weakest because we are prideful. We think we can do it all on our own—but we can’t.
When we admit our weakness, we can depend fully on God. And in our weakness, because we are dependent on God and admit that we cannot do anything on our own, we are made strong by God’s strength.
It’s a good thing to admit you are weak. To know that you are not enough.
But you must also adknowledge that God is enough.
God will use His followers. Even if the way He uses you seems little to human eyes, you play an essential part in God’s plan. God will make an eternal impact through every Christian.
If you’re an unlikely hero, that doesn’t stop God.
Are you willing to let God use you?
I really like all of the Biblical examples you used. I never realized how many people God chose that were unlikely until you listed them. The message at the end was meaningful. I agree, we are at our strongest when we are weak.
Mmm, that's good to remember, although it's also kind of intimidating. I can't help but imagine how Moses felt when he was going up to talk to Pharaoh—but I guess that's what the whole Do Hard Things idea is about, right? We aren't called to do something safe.