From the very beginning, God has chosen to work through ordinary men and women to accomplish His work. There is a quality that is glaringly consistent among all of them. It’s not that they were the smartest, or the strongest, or the richest, or even the bravest. They weren’t all the best educated, or the best looking, or the best positioned, or even the best equipped. They weren’t the most well-spoken, the most experienced, the most creative, or even the most athletic. It wasn’t their talent that set them apart. It wasn’t their achievements or their pedigree. Each of them may have had one or two of these traits, but there is only one characteristic that was true for each and every one. God looked on their hearts and saw that they were trustworthy.
They were by no means perfect. As a matter of fact, every one of them was flawed. Noah was known to drink too much. Abraham was known to lie whenever he thought it was to his advantage. Jacob was a deceiver. Moses had a bad temper. David committed adultery and even murder. Solomon was blinded by pride. Isaiah had a foul mouth. Peter denied his Lord. And Paul refused to extend grace when he should have.
There is a whole host of others who God used that were questionable choices at best. And there are many whose flaws we do not know – but their sin nature assures us they had them – just like every one of us. In many respects, we are all like the religious leaders who came before Jesus to accuse the adulterous woman. He could easily kneel on the ground in front of us and write a reason in the sand that would disqualify every one of us from serving. But instead, by His mercy, He extends His gracious invitation to each of us. Instead of our abilities or even despite our flaws, He looks at our hearts.
The Lord came to Abraham when He was preparing to raise up a nation dedicated to His purpose. He called out to Moses when He was preparing to deliver His people out of slavery. He anointed the shepherd David to lead His people. He placed Esther in the king’s palace to save His people from destruction. He surprised Mary with the news that she would bear His Son. And Jesus chose twelve ordinary, uneducated men to deliver the Good News to the world. All because He looked on their hearts and knew they were trustworthy.
These are challenging days. Our world is being assaulted on all sides by the weapons of disease, divisiveness, and deceit. But even though the days may be unsettling and confusing, our Lord has assured us that He has plans for us – plans for good and not for disaster, and plans to give us a future and a hope.(1)
And He is still looking to accomplish those plans through people whose hearts are trustworthy. They are plans we cannot imagine on our own. They are plans of a divine proportion. Plans that God will use to fulfill His mission and bring glory to His Name. Plans that will work together for our good.
The people God used in Scripture to bring about His plans weren’t seeking significant mandates from Him. They simply responded to His invitation when He extended it. And He extended His invitation because He knew they had hearts that were trustworthy.
In the midst of all the noise that is swirling around us today, there are a lot of people who claim to have the solution. In too many of the cases, their motives are questionable at best. God’s looking for those whose hearts are trustworthy. What about us? Are we looking for those whose hearts are trustworthy as well? And, even more importantly, are our hearts trustworthy?
If there ever was a day that our hearts need to be turned toward Him, it’s today. Today is the day for our hearts to be surrendered to Him and trustworthy. Today is the day for us to trust Him … walk closely with Him … and watch Him accomplish through our lives that which we never dreamed would be possible.(2)
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(1) Jeremiah 29:11
(2) Ephesians 3:20
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