Why God Uses People

"And without faith it is impossible to please him. The man who approaches God must have faith in two things, first that God exists and secondly that it is worth a man’s while to try to find God." - Hebrews 11:6 Phillips

Why God chooses to use individuals with few natural talents while bypassing others whose training, education and natural aptitudes seemingly better equip them for accomplishment is something which never ceases to amaze me. Some of the most successful leaders in the Christian world have had little real promise of success. God used some unlikely individuals such as John Bunyan, who earned his living as a tinker, something like a welder today. Then there was Dwight L. Moody, the shoe salesman-turned-evangelist, and lawyer C.I. Scofield, who wrote the notes which have helped generations of Christians better understand their Bibles.

The story of world missions is no different. Consider the impact of a Scottish lass by the name of Mary Slessor on Africa, or Hudson Taylor on China, or the strong-willed C. T. Studd on his generation, or the coal miner Evan Roberts, whose prayers sparked the Welsh Revival. In recent years consider Dave Wilkerson and Teen Challenge, or Cam Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, or Corrie Ten Boom, daughter of an old watchmaker, sent to prison in World War II. Scores of well-educated, talented individuals never made so great a mark on their generation. Why?

Is it possible that human strength becomes weakness, that God uses the less qualified individuals to do His greatest works because when individuals lack much, they also trust much? And individuals who are gifted, educated and have personal resources trust their own abilities rather than Him who called them? Long ago Paul wrote to a group of people who boasted in their wisdom and education, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" (Corinthians 1:27 kjv).

If I wanted to be a great heart surgeon, I’d like to study under a Michael Debakey, one of the pioneers in heart transplant. If I wanted to be a great artist, I would study the techniques of Michelangelo and the great masters, and if I feel lacking in personal qualification, then I would study the lives of these lesser individuals named above who accomplished much for God.

Why did they succeed? What was it about their lives which allowed God to do something very great and powerful through them?

Are there qualities common to these lesser qualified individuals who were used of God? I believe there are, and I see them not only in the lives of people today, but also in the individuals whose stories are told in the pages of the Old Testament. Let’s learn from them.

Resource Reading: Hebrews 11:8-23