“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service”
1 Timothy 1:12
How amazing it is that our Lord would judge us faithful. That in the midst of our sin and our weakness, He would see a vessel through which His glory will shine.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And not only to save them, but to call them to follow Him, to appoint them to His service. He came to draw sinners to Himself and dramatically transform their lives. So that people who observe them closely can clearly see that there is something more to this—that God must be at work, because in themselves they are not enough.
We are God’s example to the world of His great patience and power. We are witnesses of His grace, witnesses of His very reality. We have been in the pit of destruction, trapped in the mire of our own sin. We have experienced failure and are at times very aware of our limitations. But God draws us out of that. He fills us with strength to face each day and to walk through each trial. He provides all that we need. He is all that we need. Because He is enough. Enough to fill the gaps between what we can do and the role He has called us to.
He has judged us faithful, not because we proved to Him that we deserved that title, but because He knows what He can accomplish in a heart that is His. He intricately wove you together. He knows all your ways. And He has created roles specifically for you to fill—roles that He will enable you to fill, roles in which you will have to look to Him and rely constantly on His direction, wisdom, provision, and grace. It is through these “impossible” callings that others will see His power. It is through these that others will see hope. Because if God can look at us and judge us faithful, if He can take our lives and transform them to bring Him glory, then He can do so for them as well.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7
“He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.”
Psalm 40:2-3
In Pleasant Places 