Ordinary

Two men enter into Jericho and they are helped by a prostitute and God protects her and her family. He used a prostitute. I repeat, God used a prostitute for his will to be done. He chose a woman who was lost in a world of darkness and sin. He chose her to be apart of the story. God chose a woman who had been divorced and living with a man in sin to meet with Jesus at the well. Not only that, but she was a Gentile and he was a Jew, which was extremely uncommon for them to even speak. But God used her for his story.

God doesn't always choose the most righteous, pure, most qualified person. He often chooses the broken, the sinner, the messy. I was thinking about my own self and the ways that he has been using me the last couple months and I just felt myself cry out and ask him "Why me? Why are you using me when I have made so many mistakes and lived sinfully. I'm not qualified. I'm a mess sometimes. Why me?" This verse was laid upon my heart, one that I learned in high school which always brought me peace, "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

Although this verse is from the old testament, it is still relevant to us each day because of Christ. Because of his grace. God doesn't have to use what would be considered "top of the line" to do his work. He's really good at taking broken pieces and making them beautiful. He's really good at including us into his amazing story because he loves us. He loves me and he loves you. And he wants you to stop and know that with each and every breathe. The next time I wonder why God would ever choose me, I will remind myself because he loves me enough to watch his son die upon the cross and then anoint me each day with the holy spirit. Because he loves me enough to say, "Lauren, I know you messed up but I'm going to use you anyway because you're my daughter and I have great plans for you." What you have to stop and realize is that it's not about what you do...it's about his love for you. His love makes the ordinary, extraordinary.

Christ does this for us: "Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!" Micah 7:19 He uses the most unlikely people...how is going to use you tomorrow?