Incompetence   

Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so you will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Andrew Murray

I started thinking about the people God decided to use in the Bible.  Did he pick the best, the most athletic, the best looking, strongest or the smartest?  Not often. No the majority of the time he chose the incompetent.  We often use incompetence as a derogatory term but really incompetence simply means lacking qualification or ability to do something. 

If you break down the traits of some of the most important people God used in the Bible we find a pretty incompetent group of folks.  Look at Noah.  Did he know anything about rain?  Nope.  What about building boats?  Notta.  First of all, he had never seen rain and if he had never seen rain, he certainly didn’t have a need for a boat.   God literally had to tell Noah how to build the boat.  He couldn’t run down to Home Depot and take a class on boat building. 

One of the things I love so much about God is he often uses the weakest and the least.  Why?  Because those are often the ones who have nothing to lose.  They are those individuals who cling to God instead of what the world has to offer.  The second thing is by choosing the weakest instead of the strongest, it becomes more believable that it is God at work and not us in our human capacity.

Then you have David a shepherd.  Have you ever wondered why David wasn’t presented to Samuel as a potential king?  I kind of think David was considered by Jesse to be the runt of the litter.  You know the weakest link.  Why would Jesse not present him to Samuel with all of the other brothers when it came time to pick a king?  I think it was because he didn’t look like what the world pictured a king to look like.  The difference was David loved God and had a repentant heart.  He messed up frequently, but he always came back to God with a contrite heart.

When we start thinking that we can’t be used by God, think again.  He can and will use the weakest to show the world who is the Strongest.       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am incompetent just like the people You used in the Bible.  I don’t have great strength, I mean I was always the last to be picked for any athletic competition.  Please remind me that you can use me too. If I keep my eyes on You, I believe I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.    

Scripture:    For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.  For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.  As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.  For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.  He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.  You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip.  Psalm 18:28-36