Devotional - June 13, 2004

Saul of Tarsus was a bad man before he came to know the Lord. Ananias didn't want any part of him, that's for sure. But God chose Saul for a special work and he chose Ananias as the one who would let Saul know God had plans for him.

Those whom God chooses are often not the ones whom men would likely choose first. In most cases, we rely on tenure and reputation to mark an acceptable leader. God, however, looks for other characteristics where tenure and reputation are way down the list of prerequisites for serving God.

Looking back at Solomon's last few years as king over Israel, you see a good leader taking a dive. Regarded as one of the greatest of Israel's kings, Solomon showed just how far the mighty can fall when they take their eyes off God.

You might feel that you're not a likely person for God to choose as one of his children. Looking at your past failures and your inner struggles, it might seem you have a lot of ground to make up before you can go in a positive direction. Saul was like that. He was so far off the chart of likely missionaries, most everyone questioned his conversion and watched him carefully to make certain he wasn't laying a trap for believers by acting sincere.

Take heart if like me, you feel unworthy of God's trust. Looking at Saul's selection as missionary, we see Him searching our heart to find a place to call home rather than staring at our failures and discounting our value.

Want to serve God but believe you aren't able to do it without help? Congratulations, you just passed the first test of discipleship. God looks beyond our frail tendencies to see if we have potential for God-dependency.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( 1 Ki. 11:1-12:19 Ac. 9:1-25 Ps. 131:1-3 Pr. 17:4-5 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society