In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. - Romans 8: 26-28
Rahab was a prostitute; David was an adulterer; Jacob was a liar and a cheat; Moses stuttered; Elijah was suicidal; Naomi was a widow; Peter denied Christ; Timothy had an ulcer; Lazarus was dead.
We might ask why - why would God use all of these messed-up, broken people? The answer is simply, because they were messed-up and broken. So many times we look at Christ, who was born to a young girl and a carpenter in an animal-filled cave, and expect him to use the great and the glorious for his purpose, but the fact is that God takes great joy in taking those who are nothing and raising them up to high places. God is an author, writing the play of the ages, and He has given us all roles. At first we play the roles of sinners, of unbelievers, of liars, or of thieves. That’s not who we are, but that is the role that we play. But then Christ gives us another role - the role of Saints. He tells us to go, make disciples of all nations, give the world a reason for the hope that is within us. So we go out and we tell the sinners of the blood that washed us clean; we tell the liars that truth is found in Christ; we tell the broken and lost and the unworthy that all hope comes from our Father in heaven because we were once where they are, and by God’s grace we have been redeemed. Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 states, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing...” We have been redeemed, bought with a price. If you ever look around and think, “my life is a mess,” than you’re looking at it wrong. Impossible is God’s specialty, and He delights in taking the ashes of humanity and creating something magnificent.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Satan is nothing more than a yapping dog - he can make a lot of fuss, but in reality is powerless to harm any one of us. Take Job, for example. Satan had to ask God’s permission to kill even Job’s livestock, let alone touch his person. And through all the hardships that God allowed, Job never strayed from the role that God put him in. We must all seek diligently the role that God intends us to play out. Satan only gains power when we accept his thoughts. If we are children of God then everything we go through will never be enough to break us. God has a plan for each and every one of us, and thought the journey is rarely easy, God takes every trial and every bit of pain and stores them up as treasures in heaven. Seek the face of God. Walk in the role he has given you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word
What a glory he sheds on our way.
As we do His good will He delights with us still
As with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
