Why God shouldn't have called us...

I used this following little sketch/poem for a talk about God's mercy every week for YouthWorks and often reference it in my head when I am feeling discouraged. I just found it again and decided I should share it here. It is a great reminder that whatever voices in your head that are telling you aren't good enough to do His work, certainly are not from Him. A wise saying I learned while at convention in NZ was "doubt your doubts." How simple and profound. May you be reassured of His faith and investment in you today!!



There are many reasons why God shouldn't have called you.
But don't worry....
You're in good company.

Moses stuttered.

David's armor didn't fit.

John Mark was rejected by Paul.

Timothy had ulcers.

Hosea's wife was a prostitute.

Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.

Jacob was a liar.

David had an affair.

Solomon was too rich.......Jesus was too poor.

Abraham was too old......David was too young.

Peter was afraid of death......Lazarus was dead.

John was self-righteous.

Naomi was a widow.

Paul was a murderer....So was Moses.

Jonah ran from God.

Miriam was a gossip.

Gideon and Thomas both doubted.

Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.

Elijah was burned out.

John the Baptist was a loudmouth.

Martha was a worry-wart.

Mary was lazy.

Samson had long hair.

Noah got drunk.

Did I mention that Moses had a short
fuse?

So did Peter, Paul--well, lots of folks did.

But God doesn't require a job interview.
He doesn't hire and fire like most bosses,
because He's more our Dad than our Boss.
He doesn't look at financial gain or loss.
He's not prejudiced or partial, not judging,
grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry,
not blind to our need.
As much as we try, God's gifts are free. We could
do wonderful things for wonderful people
and still not be ...Wonderful.
Satan says, "You're not worthy."
Jesus says, "So what? I AM."
Satan looks back and sees our mistakes.
God looks back and sees the cross.
He doesn't calculate what you did in '98.
It's not even on the record. Sure. There are lots of
reasons why God shouldn't have called us. But if we
are magically in love with Him, if we hunger for Him
more than our next breath, He'll use us in
spite of who we are, where we've been, or what we
look like.
I pray that as Christians, we will step out of our
limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is.
Then our passion for God and our passion to
communicate Him will make mince-meat of our
limitations!