Magnificent Meekness: Practicing His Presence in a Secular Society

Have you ever wondered why God waited until Abraham was 99 years old to bless him with Isaac? Why did He pick the uneloquent Moses to speak for Him? Could He do no better than Gideon? Rahab was a prostitute. Elijah was a hot head. Leah never won a beauty contest. Jacob was no role model. Peter failed the loyalty test. Paul was a zealous persecutor of the Church. The uncomfortable truth is that God is pleased to work through the weaknesses of our lives. There is nothing more powerful in a believer's life than the strength that comes out of being broken and humbled at the foot of the Cross of Christ. God purposely puts us in the weakening process where we must continually rely upon the grace of the Holy Spirit. One of the greatest preachers who ever lived explained it most adequately: But by the grace of God I am what I am.The good news is that you do not need to be a paragon of perfection to be used by God. The Church, the people of God, is not a museum of magnificence, but a hospital for the hopeless. No one here has an S symbol on his or her T-shirt. It is more of an infirmary where we admit our weaknesses and limp in the affectionate arms of God's mercy.