He uses us all...
“And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
My question to myself: does this apply to people too— Does/would God use people living in sin to do His will? I believe that God is truly powerful and perfect enough to use anyone and anything to work for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. Why do I believe this? Two reasons: I have seen Him do it and His Word tells me so. It is really that simple.
My next thought is somewhat connected to this belief so please hang in there for a second and I promise to get to the point by the end of this.
I have often wondered how it is that Christian’s I know have been able to do many things that are pleasing to the Lord, despite some hidden area of sin in their lives. Example #1: a man sitting in the pew accepting Christ as he hears the Word of God from the mouth a well known preacher who has secretly been having an affair for three years. Example #2: A woman praying with a friend and comforting her as her friend mourns the loss of a loving husband while also thinking about how she continues to mistreat her own husband.
Those are only a couple of examples of people doing good for God though they have some hidden area of sin in their lives. I, myself, have even done this before. I try my hardest to dress modestly and not to be a stumbling block. I also teach teenage girls in my life bout this topic semi-often. But there was a point when I was learning and teaching, all the while there was a section of my closet I could not bring myself to get rid of. The shirts were from days past and the skirts from a different era in my life but, for some shameful reason or another, I found excuses not to purge them from my closet. This was actually part of the underlying issue in my heart: I was not that person anymore but for some human reason I was too prideful to get rid of those clothes.
I got rid of those clothes a long time ago. Now when I find a shirt that I think is too revealing or too tight, I have no problem grabbing it and throwing it into the Goodwill bag. But I once did have that problem and today, those same girls I talked with about modesty and valuing themselves enough to dress conservatively are just as passionate about it! Despite the clothes in my closet and the trashy corner of my heart, God still worked through me back then.
The same thing happened in Jehu’s life in 2 Kings 10. He did all of these godly things. He fulfilled prophesies by killing the house of Ahab perfectly and he also killed the ministers of Baal (a false religion that was too popular in Israel) that had been spiritually poisoning the Israelites. God even said to him, “…‘Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendents will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” (2 Kings 10:30)
Obviously, God was quite pleased with Jehu! All the things that He had wanted one were done. They were not just done, they were done the way God himself “had in mind”! This Jehu man must have been really sold out to God and living perfectly, right?
In the next line (2 Kings 10:31) the catch hits Jehu:
“Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.”
What?! Wait, this guy just did all this good stuff: fulfilling prophesies and pleasing God and reading God’s mind on how to do it and all the while he did it halfheartedly?!? He was still sinning amidst his good works?!?
Yeah. He was. But, you know what? That is how powerful God is. That is how big God is. That is how sovereign God is. Even if we are broken sinners who just can’t seem to get over that plank in our eye or those shirts hanging in our closet or the need to find satisfaction somewhere other than God, He still wants to and can use us. By no means am I saying, “It’s alright if you keep on living in that sin! God don’t care!”
What I am saying is that, though people may not have turned fully away from whatever it is that is breaking them down and breaking the gigantic heart of our God, He can and does still work in them and through them.
My question to myself: does this apply to people too— Does/would God use people living in sin to do His will? I believe that God is truly powerful and perfect enough to use anyone and anything to work for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. Why do I believe this? Two reasons: I have seen Him do it and His Word tells me so. It is really that simple.
My next thought is somewhat connected to this belief so please hang in there for a second and I promise to get to the point by the end of this.
I have often wondered how it is that Christian’s I know have been able to do many things that are pleasing to the Lord, despite some hidden area of sin in their lives. Example #1: a man sitting in the pew accepting Christ as he hears the Word of God from the mouth a well known preacher who has secretly been having an affair for three years. Example #2: A woman praying with a friend and comforting her as her friend mourns the loss of a loving husband while also thinking about how she continues to mistreat her own husband.
Those are only a couple of examples of people doing good for God though they have some hidden area of sin in their lives. I, myself, have even done this before. I try my hardest to dress modestly and not to be a stumbling block. I also teach teenage girls in my life bout this topic semi-often. But there was a point when I was learning and teaching, all the while there was a section of my closet I could not bring myself to get rid of. The shirts were from days past and the skirts from a different era in my life but, for some shameful reason or another, I found excuses not to purge them from my closet. This was actually part of the underlying issue in my heart: I was not that person anymore but for some human reason I was too prideful to get rid of those clothes.
I got rid of those clothes a long time ago. Now when I find a shirt that I think is too revealing or too tight, I have no problem grabbing it and throwing it into the Goodwill bag. But I once did have that problem and today, those same girls I talked with about modesty and valuing themselves enough to dress conservatively are just as passionate about it! Despite the clothes in my closet and the trashy corner of my heart, God still worked through me back then.
The same thing happened in Jehu’s life in 2 Kings 10. He did all of these godly things. He fulfilled prophesies by killing the house of Ahab perfectly and he also killed the ministers of Baal (a false religion that was too popular in Israel) that had been spiritually poisoning the Israelites. God even said to him, “…‘Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendents will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” (2 Kings 10:30)
Obviously, God was quite pleased with Jehu! All the things that He had wanted one were done. They were not just done, they were done the way God himself “had in mind”! This Jehu man must have been really sold out to God and living perfectly, right?
In the next line (2 Kings 10:31) the catch hits Jehu:
“Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.”
What?! Wait, this guy just did all this good stuff: fulfilling prophesies and pleasing God and reading God’s mind on how to do it and all the while he did it halfheartedly?!? He was still sinning amidst his good works?!?
Yeah. He was. But, you know what? That is how powerful God is. That is how big God is. That is how sovereign God is. Even if we are broken sinners who just can’t seem to get over that plank in our eye or those shirts hanging in our closet or the need to find satisfaction somewhere other than God, He still wants to and can use us. By no means am I saying, “It’s alright if you keep on living in that sin! God don’t care!”
What I am saying is that, though people may not have turned fully away from whatever it is that is breaking them down and breaking the gigantic heart of our God, He can and does still work in them and through them.
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