Using a Sinner

It’s amazing to me how God can use even a sinner like me. He uses me even when I’m flawed and chipped. He uses me despite myself. He uses me to extend a word of encouragement, help someone when I don’t “feel” like it or say the right thing at the right time. Believe me, I know that’s God, because I usually hop around with one foot firmly planted in my mouth.

When I think of all the people God can use…strong Christians with way more faith than me, then He uses me, “O, me of little faith!” It blows my mind how through His Spirit, I can do many things I thought I could never do. I can have empathy for a situation, when I prefer to stay neutral like Switzerland. I can comfort someone by saying exactly what they need to hear. I can be a shoulder to cry on or a person to listen when they need to vent.

Sometimes I resist the Lord’s prompting and I go about in my own “ME WORLD!” I like to camp out in “Me World”. It is so much easier to be comfortable and not care about others. To be honest, I resist a lot…but then His grace brings me back.

His grace covers my sins in the past, here and now and in the future. It’s almost funny how the Lord knew I would need His Grace in the future. My sinful nature draws me in and I need forgiveness over and over. His grace covers my intolerance of others, as well as my general dislike for uncomfortable situations. His grace has no boundaries, no restrictions. His grace frees me to be me.

It makes me realize how Great God really is. He uses me even though I’m a sinner. Yes, a sinner saved by grace. A sinner with limitations, yet He is limitless. A sinner without any redeeming qualities, yet He is the redeemer. A sinner with shame, yet He loves me without condemnation. A sinner that falls into the pit over and over, yet He becomes the bridge to span the gap. He can take that hurt and heal it. He can bring beauty from ashes. He can take a broken heart and make it whole. He can heal the sickness of addiction. He can mend a broken relationship. He is that Great!

How can I do anything? The answer is I can’t, but He can. He can use me to reach the unlovable, the forgotten, the pariahs, the lonely, the lost, the confused, the addict, the abuser, the accuser, the broken-hearted, the sick, the prisoner and the homeless. He allows me to be His voice, His hands and His feet. He allows me to show others His heart. What a privilege to serve a God that uses even me.

We are alike in our sin, but He makes us unique in His grace. He can use you, because He uses me.