There are messages to be delivered, projects to be completed and battles to be won. God uses unlikely people to accomplish His will.
I dreaded speech class in college, but I got an A in spite of heart palpitations every time I had to speak in front of the class. I liked writing, but I didn’t know what to write about, nor did I grasp all the many rules of grammar.
God uses unlikely men and women who don’t have it all together.
Maybe you haven’t heard of her before, the Prophet Huldah, a woman and a prophet, in 2 Chronicles 34:22-27 was sought out by King Josiah; a king in the lineage of David.
She delivered a Word from the Lord to King Josiah. A divine word that showed him, and tells you and I, how our actions and faithfulness to God can change the mind of God, bring protection and blessing.
God’s character never changes, His mind can.
When I was asked to start speaking to a group of women on an ongoing basis in 2013, I thought the messenger was off course. Underneath it all, the truth was the message scared me.
Whether the messenger turns you off, the message itself, or both, inquire of God first before you give an answer. My perspective changed when I couldn’t get it out of my heart that God was asking me through my pastor’s wife’s and that if I said no to her, I was saying no to God.
Salt slows decay. You and I can partner with God to be the salt.
If you think your prayers, your faithfulness in the mundane, your willingness to surrender and obey God – when it’s difficult – doesn’t matter, well, maybe you’ll want to reconsider.
God’s people, the Israelites, continued to turn against God by worshiping idols, complaining, and disobeying over and over again. King Josiah himself was brought up under the evil kings who reigned before him. They were family. Yet, he decided NOT to follow in the footsteps of those who previously led and those who followed.
He decided to be the salt that slows decay. You and I can do hard things when no one else is.
King Josiah had a heart for God. The direction of our heart determines a lot.
The Lord saw Josiah’s faithfulness in leading well and pleasing Him. The Lord saw how he humbled himself, and was sensitive to the Word of God when scrolls of scripture were found and brought to his attention (read the story: 2 Chronicles 34 and 35).
The Lord saw Josiah’s heart. The Lord sees our hearts too.
The message Prophet Huldah spoke to King Josiah, on behalf of the Lord, promised that God would NOT punish the Israelites for their ongoing disobedience until King Josiah was dead. God will honor your obedience.
King Josiah was a strong leader who got rid of all that was not of God and pursued what was. The people did what was right under his leadership, because of his leadership. Not because their hearts were right with God.
After the Passover celebrations this happened: “But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message: “What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you” (Chronicles 35:21 NLT).
“But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo” (2 Chronicles 35:22). Josiah died in battle. A battle that wasn’t his to fight.
If you think Christ followers, with a heart for God can’t be deceived well…It can happen to the best of us. God can use anyone to deliver a message to you or I, or to a whole nation.
Maybe it’s not the messenger we need to focus on. The one thing scripture does not say is that King Josiah inquired of the Lord to determine if the message from King Neco was from God.
This stings.
It’s easy to get caught up in the “who” and forget God can use anybody, even a donkey (Numbers 22:21-39) to deliver a message and accomplish His will.
He uses faulty people. He uses people who have a heart after God, and still find themselves messing up, committing adultery and murder like King David. This is sometimes hard for us to admit, until we are in need of God’s grace and mercy ourselves!
God reaches out and uses people who are against Him and who have hurt His children. Saul persecuted believers before he had an encounter with Jesus. May we too, keep our hearts open to those who God is transforming right before out eyes.
God uses people who don’t serve Him, like Cyrus, the King of Persia, to bring the Jews back to their homeland and to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1).
God uses unlikely people who are indifferent, evil or have imperfect character all to accomplish His plan. And frankly, he’ll use rocks to praise him if we don’t.
Even when our heart is right, human reasoning can throw us off course. Josiah didn’t listen to Neco because of who he was; a pagan king. He couldn’t fathom Neco was a part of God’s greater plan and he lost his life because of it. There are many of us who get lost here in this space too.
God is greater than what we can figure out, what our past has taught us, or what society is saying.
Issues and agendas can complicate things. Fight what God tells you to fight. Align your thoughts with His word. Listen to His voice. Don’t die in a battle you were never meant to fight, like King Josiah.
God uses the most unlikely people. Even those of us who don’t feel qualified and who rather sit and receive than stand and give, until someone pushes us in a new direction.
I said yes in the end. Yes to my Pastor. Yes to God. Yes to teaching. Yes to trusting in God’s plan, not my own. Yes to taking courage and stepping over my fears.
That yes has led to amazing experiences including the birth of this blog, and a deep passion for encouraging others in their faith. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also led to Spiritual warfare and battles I didn’t want to fight. And you know what, I’m stronger for it. And I’m thankful for it now, even though I wouldn’t have chose it for myself at the time.
Isn’t that how God works? He really does have our best at heart.
God calls you worthy my friend. Never forget this.
With much love and grace,
Joelle Povolni
P.S. In the turbulence of 2020 and the current election season, if you are needing to find rest and beauty, this post, He Knows Where You Are may just help. Thank you for being here friend!
