God works through sinful people in the Bible and our world, showing the Lord’s patience and long suffering. The Lord does not need our help, but in His infinite mercy, He involves us in His work even though our motives are not always pure.
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his oldest daughter Leah when he thought he was marrying Rachel. Genesis 29:25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” 26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” [1]
The Lord Wants to Work Through You
Although we are sinful people, the Lord gives us many opportunities in our lives to be used by Him to build His Kingdom. We may have experienced significant failures that affected us and others, but that does not mean God can’t use us in the future.
In many ways, the Lord uses our failures and brings good out of them as we turn our lives over to Jesus. The former drug addict or acholic is used mightily in God’s Kingdom daily to minister to people in the same place they once were. While visiting a prison in Honduras, I met an inmate functioning as an in-house chaplain. God does not waste any of our mistakes and can use those missteps in our life to refine so we can be helpful in His work.
God Has a Plan for Your Life
In our story, God had a specific plan for the lives of Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. The Lord would use these people to help build the future nation of Israel. We may question how the Lord could use us because we are far from perfect, yet He does. As we place our faith in Jesus, He transforms us.
Galatians 2:20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.[2]
Is the Lord calling you to trust in Him so He can work through you in ways you never thought were possible? Over time Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel would be refined and not be the people they once were. God does the same for us. I am much different than I was forty years ago, yet God did not wait until today to engage me in His work. He does the same in your life. Take time to rejoice in how the Lord works through you, no matter your flaws.
To hear how God works through sinful people, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/god-uses-the-dysfunctional
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ge 29:25–27). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ga 2:20). Tyndale House Publishers.