Unexpected heroes

In Judges 4-5 God, in His mercy, is going to act to deliver Israel from one of her oppressors. He will choose from Israel a person to defeat the enemy's leader, Sisera. One might have expected God to choose Barak, the leader of the army of Israel. But we observed that Barak lacks some faith. When asked to go out to battle he tells the prophetess, Deborah, that he will only go out if she goes with him. One gets the sense that Barak in trusting more in man (in this case Deborah) than in God.

So, even though Barak seems a likely candidate to gain such a victory, he is not chosen. Instead an obscure woman named Jael gets the nod. She is proactive in seeking Sisera. She invites him into her tent, gives him milk, lulls him to sleep. Then, full of courage, and we might guess trust in the Lord, she nails his head to the ground. Who would have thought God would choose Jael for such a decisive victory.

In the book of Acts we see another unlikely hero. His name is Saul. He is actually a persecutor of the church. So inflamed is he that he obtained permissions from the high priests to seek out followers of the Way in other cities, in order to capture them and bring them to prison. He was also a person seeking to make a name for himself within the Jewish religious system. He seemed like a very unlikely candidate for God to use.

Yet in Acts 9, we see that God has His ways. As Saul was on his way to Damascus to capture Christians, he becomes one. His encounter with Christ transformed him forever. He became one of God's foremost servants - one of the great heroes of our faith. Who would have thought...?

Even Peter was an unlikely candidate. This impetuous disciple swore that he would not forsake the Lord. Even if he had to die, he would not forsake him. Then when confronted by a couple of servant girls, Peter denies the Lord. He says he doesn't even know him. Is this a guy the Lord can use? Unlikely, but it seems that is what the Lord specializes in!

Perhaps you think you are an unlikely candidate to be used by the Lord. Perhaps you think your life is a bit blah. Maybe you have failed the Lord in the past. Do not let them keep you down. If you take your eyes off yourself and your past, and place them on the Lord, you may begin to see many possibilities. God is able to take the person who most might say has no chance of being used by the Lord, and make his or her one of the heroes of the faith.

As you look at your children, or grandchildren, or other people in your world....don't pre-judge them. Don't consign them to a life of mediocrity as concerns the faith. Remember, that in the hands of the Lord, every life can shine for His glory.