The Bottom of the Barrel

When we look at the calling work of God, we see that He does not hesitate to call the educated ones, men like Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Saul of Tarsus; but neither is He shy about calling ordinary common folks like two boys named David and Jeremiah and those like Peter and John who earned their living by the sweat of their brow.  His choices are not just outstanding, sometimes they are outlandish.  Some of those He calls we would never choose and some not chosen we would put at the head of the line.      

I have often looked back at that night in the Alamo parsonage when I sensed God's call to preach and thought that He must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel.  A more unsuitable candidate for preaching He could not have found.  As my seventeenth year was coming to an end, I was a shy introvert who stumbled over a sentence longer than ten words.  Talking was difficult and talking before a crowd of people was unimaginable.    

Fortunately for all of us, God sees us in ways that we cannot see ourselves.   As the Word says He sees not as those around us see.  His vision penetrates our limitations to reveal our possibilities.  His focus is not on what we want to make of ourselves, but what He knows He can make of a surrendered heart.  As Moses and Isaiah heard the divine call, we see a God who looks around, sees what He wants to accomplish, and then looks for someone who would dare be willing to say, "Here am I; send me."  (Isaiah 6:8)