God uses weak people
Throughout biblical history, a prominent theme can be found: God does big things through small men against enormous odds.
Adam the prideful, a small man. Noah the drunk, a small (albeit faithful when it counted) man. Abraham the liar, Moses the murderer, Joshua the kid, Samson full of lust for Delilah, Boaz the unmarried, David the child. Also David the hunted, David the cheater, David the murderer. Solomon, with his 300 wives and 700 mistresses, the drunk, the indulgent—a small man. Nehemiah the foreigner, Job the afflicted, Jeremiah the depressed, Daniel the hated and tortured, Jonah the judgmental, Habbakuk the warfare and famine stricken...all small men facing enormous odds, possessing overwhelming fear.
God told Joseph not to fear marrying a pregnant girl. He told Jesus (the only man in this list who isn't a small or weak man, but certainly the most humble of men)—God told Jesus not to fear the cross. He told John the Baptist not to fear death but make way for the Messiah. He told Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Jude, Bartholomew, Thomas, the other James, Matthew, the other Simon, and Judas, do not fear—follow this random preacher around the wilderness for three years and then be jailed and murdered! He told Saul the murderer do not fear, instead give your life for the cause of the Christ you persecuted. Stephen the martyr, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, John imprisoned and exiled at the end of his life...all weak men facing enormous odds, met with great fears, called by God to have courage.
With the exception of Jesus, every man in this list was just that, just a man. These men were weak, fearful, and doubtful like any man. They were sinful men (again, Christ excluded) who faced tremendous and fearful odds to advance the Kingdom of God. Following the time of Scripture, you have early church fathers dying for the faith at the hands of a world that didn’t understand them, you had men like Wycliffe giving their lives to disseminate translations of Scripture, men dying to protect the faith from heresy, and missionaries throughout church history—hundreds of thousands of them—giving their lives to make known the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Weak, small, sinful men, afflicted with all manner of torturous ailments and doubts, all running under the banner of a God who beckoned them, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you always.” “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” “Do not be afraid, I am your shield.”
Did you know that the words “Do not be afraid” are found in Scripture 77 times?
This is my prayer for you, today, reader. This is my prayer for myself. I'm such a weak man, so prone to give in to my pride and arrogance, so easily pushed to anger, so slow to put in hard work, so quick to doubt, so full of a dead fleshly spirit, so lacking Christ. I pray "Do not be afraid" over us. I ask God to give me courage. That I might know that the Lord is with me. That I remember: Weak, doubtful, sinful men were used by God to deliver the greatest truth in all of human history.
God uses ONLY weak, doubtful, sinful men. Those who are strong in the world’s strength die a worldly death. Those who are sure of themselves are made to be broken. Those who are prideful are torn down. God uses the weak to lead the strong. And God will use you, in the worst time of your life, to bring his message of hope to someone who’s hopeless tomorrow.
Do not be afraid.