In the Bible, we hear about the incredible stories of many strong, brave, exceptional, faith-filled men. We admire them as saints, and look to them as examples of strong, Godly men.
But most of the men we lift up as amazing men of God, actually started off as weak, complacent, and passive men.
Here’s a few weak men, God used to do great things.
ABRAHAM
We all know about “Father Abraham.” We know how he led his family out of Ur and into the promised land. We know how he was faithful in giving up his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. We know how God promised him he would be the father of a great nation and how all people on earth will be blessed through him.
But before all that, Abram was a doubting, lying coward. When God told him and Sarah that they would have a son even at their advanced age, Abram literally fell on the ground laughing. One one occasion, he lied and told people that Sarah was his sister, not his wife so they wouldn’t kill him.
Years later, he did it again, and a foreign king almost took Sarah as his wife.
MOSES
We all know about Moses courageously demanding Pharoah to “Let my people go.” We know about his leading the Exodus out of Egypt, receiving the 10 Commandments, and leading the Israelites through the wilderness.
But before all that, Moses was a murderer. When he saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian and buried the body. When others found out, he ran away into the region of Midian.
Later, on Mt. Sinai, Moses questioned God for choosing him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, claiming he had a speech impediment. God told him He would give him the words to say. Moses still hesitated, asking God to literally send anyone else.
Again, God took a sinful, hesitant, and imperfect man, and used him to lead his people.
GIDEON
We know Gideon as fearlessly leading his 300 warriors to defeat the mighty army of the Midianites with God’s strength behind him.
But before that, when God first sent an angel to find a warrior to lead the Israelites, Gideon was found hiding in a wine press.
He questioned that he was the one who could lead. He even asked God for proof by a sign, then asked for another sign, then yet again another sign.
God took a weak, uncertain man and told him “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon didn’t believe he was a mighty warrior, but God turned him into one.
DAVID
You know David as the brave shepherd who defeated the giant Goliath, as a mighty warrior who led the army of Israel against many enemies, and the victorious king who united the tribes of Israel into a unified kingdom.
But before all that, he wasn’t even considered important enough to be mentioned by his own father. God sent Samuel to Jesse to anoint a new king. Jesse brought out his seven sons one by one. Samuel thought for sure one of these strong young men would lead Israel. God told Samuel none of them were the one saying, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Finally Jesse said there is one more, but he’s out tending the sheep. That youngest “runt” of the family was David.
Many years later when David was king, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, a story many are familiar with. But there’s a part of that story which is often overlooked.
“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.” – 2 Samuel 11:1
David only fell into temptation because he chose the comfort of staying back in the palace instead of going out to fight with his men. This is where we often fall into temptation too. We must reject comfort and complacency, and instead put on the armor of God and fight for His kingdom.
JONAH
Many of us know the story of Jonah. God called him to minister to the people of Nineveh. But instead, Jonah ran away. He boarded a ship heading for Tarshish, trying to flee from God.
You probably know what happened next. A great storm began. Jonah knew it was God judging him, so he had the other sailors cast him into the sea where he was swallowed by a whale for three days before being vomited out.
Jonah repented while in the belly of the whale and eventually led a great revival in Nineveh, leading many people to follow God.
PAUL
Paul is known as the great apostle, authoring 14 books of the New Testament and chosen by God to minister to the early Gentile church.
But before that, he was Saul, a zealous Pharisee who viciously sought out early Christians and killed them mercilessly. He is first introduced as holding the coats of the men who stoned Stephen in the book of Acts.
Before his transformation on the road to Damascus, he was on his way there to hunt out and arrest Christians.
Paul also talks about his weakness in 2 Corinthians 12. He had a weakness he calls a “thorn in the flesh.” He asked God to take it away, but God refused, saying, “my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
There are many, many other examples of God taking weak men and using them for His purposes.
- Elijah was borderline suicidal
- Jacob literally fought God
- Samson was a womanizer
- Noah was a drunk
- Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines
- Peter denied Jesus three times
- Peter, James and John fell asleep on Jesus 3 times
- Thomas doubted the resurrection
Yet, even in their weakness, doubt, and sin, God found ways to use these men to glorify Himself, further His kingdom, and spread the Gospel to all the world.
We often praise these men as saints, and we should. But we must also remember that they are merely men. They are human. They have the same sins, mistakes, regrets, and weaknesses that we have.
We often think we are too broken, too sinful, and have done too much damage to be of use to God.
But God doesn’t want perfect people. He wants people who are willing to trust Him in faith and follow His will for their lives, even begrudgingly as many men in the Bible did.
When we learn to do as Paul did, and accept our weaknesses and use them as opportunities to show God’s strength, then we can truly do great work for the kingdom of God.
“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
You may think you’re not good enough for God to use you. I certainly did. I thought I had committed way too many sins, watched too much porn, cheated too many times. But God had reason for bringing me through all that darkness. Because one day, he knew that He could use my story of overcoming darkness to help bring other men out of the darkness of addiction and into the light of His grace and forgiveness.
God has a plan for you too. Right now, he’s writing your testimony of how he took a broken, weak, and sinful man, and turned him into a mighty warrior for the kingdom, strong in his faith, and leading others to follow Jesus
It’s up to you to repent of your sins, receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness, and move forward in faith, trusting in God for His plan and purpose for your life.
If you need help breaking free from the chains of sin and addiction so that you can live out God’s purpose for your life, reach out to me for help. It’s not a battle you can fight alone. I’ll stand by you in the battle, and show you the path to freedom.