Ordinary people are used by an extraordinary God.

In a world where comparison seems to be the norm, it’s easy to buy into the lie that you just don’t measure up. But the problem is, we don’t believe that it’s a lie. We have let it become our truth.

That girl is prettier than you. The man at your gym benches way more than you (and way more than he probably should, to be honest). Someone else was chosen for the position at work that you felt you deserved. That mom – you know, the one on Instagram that has it all together – yeah, you’ll never be her.

When we live in a culture where people’s highlights are depicted as “the norm,” it’s enough to leave a person feeling defeated and less-than.

Why are we living for others when we should ultimately be living for an audience of one? Why do we care more about what outfit to wear than which hearts we are impacting? And why do we put ourselves down when we are made in the image of God?

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image…” (NIV).

Did you read that? You are made in the IMAGE of GOD. That’s nothing short of extraordinary. All throughout the Bible, God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary work.

Actually, God takes it a smidge further. Not only does He use the ordinary, He uses the unlikely. Think about this. Moses had a stutter, yet he was called by God to lead his people to the promised land. Could you imagine the thoughts surging through Moses’ head when God hand-picked him to lead? These probably weren’t his thoughts, but they would definitely be mine:

“There’s no way I can lead people. I can’t even get out a full sentence without stammering. No one will take me seriously. God must not know what He’s doing.”

But by faith, Moses used his platform and led his people out of Egypt because he was a great leader. Imagine if he allowed his speech impediment to get in the way of what God really called him to do.

Something we view as a flaw or hindrance, God says, “I can use that.” We just have to have faith and let Him.

Still don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few more examples. I think you’ll feel a bit better after reading this…

“Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Joseph was abused

Gideon was afraid

Rahab was a prostitute

David had an affair and was a murderer

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ (3 times!)

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once)

Zacchaeus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer…

AND…Lazarus was dead!”

– excerpt from Victorious Mindsets by Steve Backlund

There’s always going to be someone better or more equipped than you, but that doesn’t determine your worth. And it sure doesn’t determine whether or not God can use you (refer back to that list of unlikely heroes).  When we understand that our identity is in Christ, and He created us to do incredible things, that changes everything.

You have talents and God-gifts that the world needs. Like my 7-year-old says, “God made you special.”  He’s right!