The Least of These预览

God uses our disabilities and differences for His glory

We often consider our “differences” as problems, but God does not see as we see. Here are some interesting examples: only a fraction of the population is left-handed, and they are often considered to be “problems,” but we see two times in the Bible where God used them in a special way. In Judges 3:15,

Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man.

God used him to destroy an evil dictator because he could carry his sword under his clothes on the side never expected. Read the story in Judges 3:15-30. See a similar story in Judges 20:16, about left-handed soldiers who had an advantage for the same reason. Sometimes in the military, red-green color-blindness produces excellent soldiers or hunters because they can better understand the differences in the shapes and textures they see and are not easily fooled by camouflage.

God loves to take care of the neglected, as demonstrated in Deuteronomy 14:29,

so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

In Psalm 68:5-6, God is described as:

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;”. Our disabilities and low status in life are just opportunities for God to demonstrate His glory and love. 1 Corinthians 1:28, “God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,”

And we can all take courage, regardless of our difficulty, from Psalm 91:9-16,

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him.

Reflection: There really is nothing that we experience that God cannot redeem and use for His glory. In the next devotional, we’ll learn more about the high value God places on those whom the world devalues.