1 00:00:02,650 --> 00:00:14,260 Speaker 1: Life Audio Welcome to the Crosswalk Devotional. We're glad to 2 00:00:14,290 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is how God 3 00:00:18,780 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: uses us no matter what our past looks like. We'll 4 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: return with the devotion after a brief message from our sponsors. 5 00:00:41,010 --> 00:00:43,830 Speaker 1: God can use the part of your story you wish 6 00:00:43,909 --> 00:00:49,210 Speaker 1: were different. Written and read by Sarah Fraser. And he 7 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:53,830 Speaker 1: said to him, Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, 8 00:00:53,890 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am 9 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,540 Speaker 1: the least in my father's house. And the Lord said 10 00:00:59,580 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: to him, But I will be with you, and you 11 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,100 Speaker 1: shall strike the Midianites as one man. Judges 6, 15-16 12 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: If God had handed 24-year-old Sarah a list of everything 13 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:18,170 Speaker 1: she would eventually be responsible for, she might have handed 14 00:01:18,230 --> 00:01:21,430 Speaker 1: it right back. As a young new mom, I had 15 00:01:21,590 --> 00:01:24,730 Speaker 1: no idea the journey God would put me on as 16 00:01:24,810 --> 00:01:30,670 Speaker 1: I started out through motherhood. I did not feel equipped 17 00:01:30,830 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: to bring a newborn home that spring morning, but I did. 18 00:01:35,740 --> 00:01:38,899 Speaker 1: As the years moved on, I found myself adding more 19 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,180 Speaker 1: and more children. We ended up with five. Homeschooling was 20 00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:45,980 Speaker 1: next on the agenda, and then God gave us a 21 00:01:46,050 --> 00:01:49,970 Speaker 1: special needs daughter. After that, God moved our family to 22 00:01:50,010 --> 00:01:53,830 Speaker 1: a foreign country, then moved us back. So many parts 23 00:01:53,870 --> 00:01:57,490 Speaker 1: of my story I have wished to be different. There 24 00:01:57,530 --> 00:02:01,310 Speaker 1: were moments of tears and heartache. In those times, I 25 00:02:01,370 --> 00:02:05,570 Speaker 1: didn't really see how God would use this part of 26 00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:12,940 Speaker 1: my story. Most of us have circumstances, weaknesses, disappointments, and 27 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,650 Speaker 1: limitations we would change if we could. We assume that 28 00:02:17,710 --> 00:02:21,550 Speaker 1: these unwanted parts of our life make us less useful 29 00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:26,890 Speaker 1: to God. Years later, I'm learning that we often believe 30 00:02:27,290 --> 00:02:31,940 Speaker 1: God needs a more qualified version of us, but in reality, 31 00:02:32,530 --> 00:02:37,310 Speaker 1: He only needs a willing heart. Gideon looked at his 32 00:02:37,389 --> 00:02:42,389 Speaker 1: own story and saw reasons God couldn't use him. God 33 00:02:42,710 --> 00:02:48,820 Speaker 1: saw something entirely different. In Judges 6, 14-15, we read 34 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: that God calls Gideon to rescue the Israelites from the Midianites. 35 00:02:54,300 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: Gideon's immediate response was to list all of the reasons 36 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,870 Speaker 1: why he shouldn't be God's leader. Judges 6, 15 basically says, 37 00:03:06,460 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 1: How can someone with my background possibly do this? We 38 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:16,180 Speaker 1: do something similar when we look at our past, personality, 39 00:03:16,860 --> 00:03:24,010 Speaker 1: family circumstances, weaknesses, disappointments, or lack of resources. We often 40 00:03:24,150 --> 00:03:30,489 Speaker 1: see this as a disqualification. But God did not change 41 00:03:30,690 --> 00:03:37,210 Speaker 1: Gideon's story before he called him. God answered Gideon in 42 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:43,230 Speaker 1: the same way that God answers us. Judges 6.16 says, 43 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:53,580 Speaker 1: Notice that God didn't correct Gideon's assessment of his circumstances. 44 00:03:54,620 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: What Gideon said was true. He was who he said 45 00:03:59,420 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: he was. God didn't change anything about Gideon's family. background 46 00:04:05,940 --> 00:04:13,460 Speaker 1: or resume. It would actually be God's presence, not Gideon's qualifications, 47 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: that would make the difference. God doesn't need to rewrite 48 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: your past before he can use your present. The Bible 49 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,500 Speaker 1: is filled with the truth that God works with those 50 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: who are weak. God does not use us despite our weakness, 51 00:04:32,540 --> 00:04:37,140 Speaker 1: but through our weakness. He does this so his strength 52 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:42,620 Speaker 1: is visible and he gets the glory. Not only that, 53 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,810 Speaker 1: parts of your story have provided deep spiritual growth in 54 00:04:47,870 --> 00:04:52,710 Speaker 1: your life. There might be things you learned, experienced, and 55 00:04:52,770 --> 00:04:56,510 Speaker 1: grew in while facing the hardships that you wouldn't have 56 00:04:56,589 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 1: otherwise done. If you have removed the hard parts of 57 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:06,630 Speaker 1: your past, you might not have developed the compassion you 58 00:05:06,710 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: have now. Or maybe you learned dependence and humility in 59 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,980 Speaker 1: a deeper way. God certainly grants us wisdom and faith 60 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,220 Speaker 1: while going through storms. We might not always understand why 61 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:27,790 Speaker 1: God allowed something. We don't need to call painful things good. 62 00:05:28,970 --> 00:05:32,530 Speaker 1: But we can trust that God is able to redeem 63 00:05:32,770 --> 00:05:37,570 Speaker 1: what we hadn't we would have never chosen. Your weakness 64 00:05:37,650 --> 00:05:44,140 Speaker 1: does not limit God's strength. Gideon's confidence couldn't ultimately come 65 00:05:44,220 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: from discovering something impressive about himself. It came from God's presence. 66 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,380 Speaker 1: If God is asking you to do a new type 67 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: of work, step into a new role, or take on 68 00:05:57,050 --> 00:06:02,830 Speaker 1: more responsibility, remember, this isn't about being enough. It is 69 00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:07,650 Speaker 1: all about God's promise. I will be with you. When 70 00:06:07,710 --> 00:06:12,270 Speaker 1: our usefulness in God's kingdom rests more on His sufficiency 71 00:06:12,380 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: than ours, we find that we are already equipped for 72 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: what God is calling us to do. Maybe there is 73 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,799 Speaker 1: a chapter in your life you still wish you could rewrite. 74 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt or wish 75 00:06:26,779 --> 00:06:30,419 Speaker 1: it happened differently, but you also don't have to believe 76 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,529 Speaker 1: it disqualifies you The God who looked at Gideon and 77 00:06:34,610 --> 00:06:37,070 Speaker 1: all of his weakness and said, I will be with you, 78 00:06:37,089 --> 00:06:41,050 Speaker 1: is still the God who works with imperfect people and 79 00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: imperfect stories today. If I could sit beside that 24-year-old 80 00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:50,140 Speaker 1: version of myself today, I wouldn't hand her a list 81 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:56,420 Speaker 1: of everything coming. That would be overwhelming. Honestly, I wouldn't 82 00:06:56,620 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: even give her a warning, right? Perhaps I would prepare 83 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:08,100 Speaker 1: her for hardship, but that often doesn't help. Instead, I 84 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,500 Speaker 1: would simply say, God is with you. He has always 85 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,860 Speaker 1: been and always will be. Looking back, I can see 86 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:23,210 Speaker 1: that God didn't always change the circumstances I wished were different. Instead, 87 00:07:23,290 --> 00:07:30,010 Speaker 1: He used them to change me. Yes. Some of it 88 00:07:30,150 --> 00:07:33,810 Speaker 1: will be hard. But in the hard things, there will 89 00:07:33,850 --> 00:07:38,450 Speaker 1: be so many good things. God's goodness shines so bright 90 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: when we rest in His character. Friend, these parts of 91 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: your story have made you who you are. God does 92 00:07:47,300 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: not make mistakes. Even if you wish you had a 93 00:07:50,900 --> 00:07:56,340 Speaker 1: different background, different abilities, different circumstances, or even a different personality. 94 00:07:57,460 --> 00:08:11,780 Speaker 1: God Gideon's story reminds us that God isn't searching for 95 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,460 Speaker 1: the person with the perfect resume. He is looking for 96 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: people willing to trust Him. Whatever God places in front 97 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,730 Speaker 1: of you today, you don't need to know whether you 98 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: are strong enough. You only need To remember the promise 99 00:08:28,580 --> 00:08:33,780 Speaker 1: that was enough for Gideon. I will be with you. 100 00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:39,820 Speaker 1: Intersecting faith and life. What parts of your story do 101 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,540 Speaker 1: you wish were different? Do you use these things to 102 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,420 Speaker 1: give excuses to not follow God's call in your life? Today, 103 00:08:49,020 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: ask God to help you trust that he is with you. 104 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:57,579 Speaker 1: His presence is enough. Additional reading. 2 Corinthians 12, 9, 10. 105 00:08:57,550 --> 00:09:02,030 Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians 1, 26-29. Exodus 4, 10-12. Psalm 139, verses 13-16. 106 00:09:02,070 --> 00:09:05,090 Speaker 1: Ephesians 2, 10. Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If 107 00:09:05,110 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: you liked what you heard today... 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