Is there really a difference between our favorite Bible characters and us? I say there is not. As I look at who God used, I get encouraged. If He can use them significantly, He can use me. The next time you feel like God can't use you, just remember that:

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ (3 times)

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once)

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer

AND...Lazarus was dead!

God Reveals Their Weaknesses to Give us Hope

If I was in charge of what went into the Bible, I probably would not have mentioned some of the dysfunction done by the people God used. God, however, wants us to see they were not perfect so we will have hope that He can use us too. 

The enemy is constantly trying to convince us that we are less than and different from those in the Bible. He wants us to believe we are disqualified from being used greatly. This is a lie! I remember when my wife, Wendy, heard this in prayer, “I can’t wait for you to get perfect, I need to use you now.” That is a good word for us today.

Obviously I am not saying we should ignore abusive or self-destructive behavior, but the world needs us to stir up the beliefs that we are significant and that what we are doing is  also significant. We are needed to arise and shine (Isaiah 61:1) and not stay in a place of false humility and inferiority.

Were Their Encounters Different Than Ours?

I believe we over-spiritualize the encounters of those in the Bible and thus believe our encounters are inferior. When God spoke to Abraham about him being a father of many nations, was it different from how God speaks to us today?  I really don’t think so. 

We tend to romanticize the past and make it what it really wasn’t. We also tend to believe that important Christian leaders are different from us - that the gap between those ministering from the stage and those listening is huge. That too is not true. We honor those who minister, but they too struggle with frustrations, relational challenges, trials, and personal weaknesses. 

Consider what the Bible says about Elijah “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings]” (James 5:17 AMP). This tells us there is no difference. As we got deeper into this, we actually realize there is difference which makes us superior to the Elijah and the Old Testament saints:

• We in Christ are a new creation
• We have the Holy Spirit living in us
• We have the written Word of God

The people who lived before the New Covenant longed to see what we are today and what we have access to. As they sit in the great cloud of witnesses, they are hoping we get revelation of the greatness of our salvation and calling.

So, is there really a difference between us and them? If there is, the difference is that we have the advantage over most of our favorite Bible characters. If that is hard to believe, we can start with t believing that we are not inferior to them, and that our encounters with God are no less than theirs. Now that is good news!