Embrace Being different

When I watched the first season of The Chosen on television, one of the most profound things I heard was, “Get used to different.” This season, some disciples were astonished when Jesus approached Matthew, the tax collector, and asked him to follow Him. They couldn’t understand why Jesus would call a tax collector who had betrayed his kind to serve the Romans. Jesus lovingly told them, “Get used to being different.” When I heard those words, the Lord reminded me that He doesn’t see what other people see; He sees what He created us to be.

Throughout the scriptures, we witness God choosing the unqualified and transforming them into qualified individuals. He chose a stutterer, Moses, to speak on His behalf; an infertile woman named Sarah was chosen to become the mother of a nation; a seemingly weak individual, Gideon, was chosen to defend Him; a forgettable young son, David, who became the most unforgettable king to His people; Mary, an unknown girl, was chosen to be the mother of His son; and Paul, a persecutor, was chosen to spread the gospel to the nations.

God doesn’t wait for us to be perfect or fully mature in our faith to use us. Instead, He takes ordinary, willing people and accomplishes the extraordinary in their lives and in the lives of those around them, just like He did with Rahab, the prostitute, and the woman at the well. He promises to use us, and through that experience, He perfects us.

I know this to be true because, like them, He chose me despite my lack of qualifications. He saw who He had created. He didn’t wait for me to be perfect. He saw what nobody else, not even me, had seen. He saw my heart – a woman spotless, a woman who would one day share His message and what He had done in my life with others. What did He see? The sentence that follows is who you became. Who were you before He chose you?

The woman in the mirror is no longer the one I used to see but the one He sees. Now I can confidently proclaim, as Paul once said, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain”. (Philippians 1:21 KJV)

How about you, friend? Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see who He sees, or do you see what other people see?

Beloved, take heart. God sees you, stands with you, and will never give up on you or me. Trust Him and wait patiently. Remember, God is willing to use the less-than-perfect, the outcast, and what we might see as unsuitable to accomplish His purpose, just as He has done throughout history.

God’s Promises to us:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 NIV

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV

 

Prayer

Lord, I am grateful for the beautiful and unexpected ways you have worked in my life. Thank you for seeing and choosing me before I was even formed in my mother’s womb. Please continue to guide me and give me the courage and strength, especially when my flesh and others tell me that I’m not enough. Help me to always see the one you see and not the one that others see. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

References

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English

Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Kings James                             Version, Copyright1982 by Thomas Nelson copyright 1982 by Thomas19082