God Can Use Damaged People

When you look at your life, all you may see is “damaged goods.” You might think you don’t have anything worthwhile to offer anyone; that you don’t have a pulpit to preach from, a platform to speak from, or a position that looks like ministry. In fact, all you might think you have is a weak body, a checkered past, a small circle of people in your life, and a quiet place of service that few notice.

Don’t let that stop you.

Pastor David Gibbs has often told the story of his mother, who contracted polio when he was a boy. Before the illness, she had been active, gifted, and deeply involved in serving the Lord. But polio changed her life. Her body was severely damaged, and the ministry she had known seemed to be gone.

At one point, someone even told her that God was finished with her. But she refused to believe that. Her conviction was simple: if God had still given her breath, then He still had something significant for her to do.

Though she could no longer serve Him as she once had, she began ministering to children. Within two years, she was impacting thousands of kids every Sunday. Her polio robbed her of her ability to walk, but it didn’t steal her ability to serve. Her story reminds us that ministry does not require a pulpit, a platform, or perfect strength. Sometimes God does His most beautiful work through people who simply give Him what they have, even if it’s damaged goods.

This is contrary to what the world tells us—they measure success according to money, fame, position, and power.

Dr. James Dobson wrote in his book, Your Legacy: “A popular bumper sticker reads, ‘He who dies with the most toys, wins.’ It’s a lie. It should read, ‘He who dies with the most toys, dies anyway.’ I hope you agree that a lifetime invested in the accumulation of worldly possessions will have been wasted if that turns out to be your primary reason for living. When all has been said and done, it won’t matter.”

Even Christians can get caught up in the world’s priorities. Too often, we wish we had someone else’s gifts, possessions, bank account, calling, or opportunities. We may think, “If I was a pastor, then I could minister,” or, “If I worked for a Christian organization, then my life would really count for God.” But Scripture points us in a different direction. Peter wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10, ESV).

Notice that Peter does not say, “If you have a ministry title, use it.” He says, “As each has received a gift.” Every believer has something from God to steward. Your gifts may be public or private, large or small. They may be used in a church or another form of ministry, a business, classroom, hospital, shop, home, or across a family table. But because the Lord gave them to you, they matter.

That should make every believer ask an important question: What has God placed in my hands, and how can I use it effectively to serve others?

You may not feel like you are involved in ministry because your daily work doesn’t look spiritual on the surface. You may spend your days answering phones, managing people, fixing problems, serving customers, teaching students, or working a thankless job. But if you belong to Christ, your efforts are not separate from your faith. It’s one of the places where your faith is meant to be lived out.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23, ESV). The way you work, speak, listen, keep your word, and respond under pressure can become a witness to the grace of God. Many people around you may never open the doors of a church until they first see the impact of the gospel on your life.

That truth has become very personal to me. For many years, I wanted to go into full-time Christian ministry, but the Lord closed those doors. I didn’t understand it at the time. I only knew I wanted to serve Him, yet He kept me in the business world—and He allowed me to use that time for His glory.

Back in the 1990s when the scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky broke, I was editing the work of a prominent Washington, D.C. journalist. He included some lewd material, and I cut it because it was inappropriate for publication. That angered him, and he wrote a letter to my boss asking him to fire me. Ironically, he said, “Steve should be working for James Dobson, not me.” The Lord definitely has a sense of humor.

My boss told him I had made the right decision and that he should apologize to me. When he called, he did apologize, and I forgave him. He was stunned. “Is that all?” he asked. I said, “Sure. You apologized, I forgave you, we’re good.” He told me he had never experienced forgiveness like that. That moment opened the door for ministry. I don’t know if he ever gave his life to Christ, but in the years that followed, I was able to share the gospel with him many times. He always remembered my quick decision to forgive, and he valued our friendship because of it.

Here’s the important point: I didn’t get the ministry I wanted, but I learned that people around me in the business world needed encouragement, truth, prayer, patience, kindness, and someone who was willing to listen. They wanted to see the gospel played out in an ordinary life.

That may be exactly where God has placed you today. Years from now, you still may not know what He has planned, but you can be faithful with what is in your hands right now. You can ask, “Lord, who or where can I serve today? How can my work, words, experience, influence, and even my deficiencies point people toward You?”

So, do not despise the place where God has you, or underestimate the gifts He has given you. He can even use what feels weak, ordinary, or broken. Evaluate what He has placed in your hands, steward it well, and use it to serve others and proclaim Christ.

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| Written by Steve Kroening | Dr. James Dobson Family Institute | Read full story at Read More