The Power and Wisdom of God

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1 Corinthians 1:25-29

Throughout history, God has called and will call men (and women) to great works in His name. God calls upon ordinary people to complete extraordinary feats through Him. Those whom God calls, He equips.

The following are a few examples of those whom God has called: In Judges 4, the LORD sent Deborah, a prophet, with a message to Barak to build an army and go to war against the enemies of Israel. Barak, a man, replied he would only go if Deborah, a woman, would go with him. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon in Judges 6, Gideon met Him with a bevy of questions and then asked for a sign that the message was really from the LORD. In Judges 13-16, you read the story of Samson, who seemed to have a weakness for women. The story of the prophet Jonah, found in Jonah 1-4, is one of a person who decided to do God’s bidding only after an attempt to run from God failed. Jonah then became angry because those to whom he preached, living in the city of Nineveh, repented upon hearing God's message and God forgave them. In John 4, God used the Samaritan woman, a person who had lived an immoral life, to bring her fellow villagers to Christ after meeting Him herself.

As Christians we are commanded (and therefore, obligated) to go and tell a dying world the good news of Jesus Christ. There are no excuses. In what ministry is God asking you to participate? Where is God asking you to go? What is God asking you to do? You may be sure, wherever God sends you; whatever He sends you to do, He will not send you unprepared.

Note: David Platt writes in Radical, “The faith in Christ that saves us from our sins involves an internal transformation that has external implications.” (p. 110)

God Bless!