Why is it you assume God could never use you? Why do you dismiss yourself from a greater calling on your life? Is it because you’ve never felt really good at anything? Is it because you are just a nobody? Is it because you’ve failed before, and you really wouldn’t want to fail God?

Did you know the single most read author in the world likely felt exactly like you? The human who has likely had the greatest impact for Christ could have never imagined being used to tell the world about Jesus. His past was so wrong, there’s no way he could have ever made it right. But God …

God changes everything. He changes your story and he changes your trajectory. He changes the story you tell yourself about your past and he uses it for your future. He changes who you think you are to align with who you were really created to be.

You were created to be HIS. His girl. His masterpiece. His beloved. But, if you’ve spent your whole life feeling like you’re no one special with no special purpose to fulfill, it’s hard to see what could be possible for you. That’s when God plans a head on collision on your course.

The most read author, the one with the greatest impact for Christ, the one with a past of being 100% wrong, was Paul. Paul, the author of over half of our New Testament. He was the one God chose.

Paul writes in Galatians 1: 1, “I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority …” and that’s exactly right. No one would have chosen Paul to teach about following Jesus. He was the most unlikely candidate by human standards because of his past.

Do you know about Paul’s past? His name was originally Saul. He was born just a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus, and as a young boy he went to school to study the law of God. He knew all the laws and he was passionate about ensuring everyone kept the law. But, there was a growing group of people experiencing freedom from the law, and those people were known as Christians.

During Jesus’ time on earth, he stated he came to fulfill the law so that everyone who believed in him would be deemed as worthy and approved. He set people free from an impossible law they could never be perfect enough to fulfill. But Saul didn’t agree with this new found freedom. He, along with the other Pharisees, feared what people would do without the 613 commands they had been bound by.

So, Saul fought. Literally. He fought Christians. Acts 8:3, “Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.” Acts 9:1, “Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.” His mission was to put an end to this freedom Jesus had offered. As an enforcer of the law, freedom threatened to ruin everything.

At about 30 years old, Saul finds himself on a road to the town of Damascus where he planned to find every Christian and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. But God …

Acts 9: 3-9, “As he (Saul) was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Sal! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, lord?’ Saul asked. And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for 3 days and did not eat or drink.”

Imagine for a moment how absolutely terrifying this would be. The very thing you’ve been teaching AGAINST has just had an encounter with you. And this encounter has left you blinded. Everything you thought was right, is now being proven wrong. Knowing how Saul had been treating the followers of Jesus, imagine how he must have feared harsh punishment from Jesus himself after this encounter.

So, here he is blind. He’s not eating or drinking. He must have been certain this was the end for him. There couldn’t be a future beyond this. He had been so wrong.

But God …

God never looks at a single one of his children and declares they’re too far gone. He looks at their mistakes and sees how he can use it all for good. He looks at their story and sees how he it can be part of a greater story. And that’s what God saw in Saul. How his wrong could be used for right. How his story could be part of a greater story. And how you and I could see ourselves in this story and understand we’re not dismissed either.

Did you know that’s how God sees you? Everything that makes you ordinary is precisely what he wants to use. I used to think being ordinary, regular ol’ me was a total disadvantage. I didn’t have the degree. I didn’t have the unique skills. I didn’t have the training. For so long I tried to hide the real me and show up as someone I wasn’t. I wore business suits and lipstick. High heels and fancy purses. It’s a whole lot of pressure to keep up that facade. Then one day, I was live hosting devotional and I proceeded to mispronounce a word atleast 5 times in a row. The word I was trying to use was melancholy, however for some reason every time I said it, it came out ma-launchy. Ma-launchy.

I was so embarrassed. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. The real me had come out … the me who mispronounces big words in a small town accent. The me that prefers to be barefoot in a sundress. The me that sings bad and dances bad, but does both anyway. That’s the real me I had been trying to hide. That day, God met me and showed me this is precisely why he has chosen me. I am just me. And me is all he has ever wanted. Real me. Authentic me. Regular ol’ me. Because if God can use me, couldn’t he use you too? If God has a calling on my life, could that mean he has a calling on your life too? If I’m not dismissed, then maybe you’re not dismissed either.

Saul was not dismissed. His entire life he had been boldly and passionately wrong. Now Jesus has an encounter with him on the road to Damascus, and that encounter has left him blind. But, that’s not where God would leave him.

Let’s keep reading. Acts 9: 10-19:

“Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! He is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.”

Now, with the power of the Holy Spirit, Saul was changed. He knew the truth and he became a crusader for the truth, and he was given a new name, Paul.

Yes, Paul, the author of over half the New Testament in our Bible.

Paul, who wrote Galatians. 1:1, “I was not appointed by any group of people or humans (of course he wasn’t – no one would have chosen him with his past of being so wrong), but I was appointed by Jesus Christ himself and by God the father, who raised Jesus from the dead.”

And because Paul knew it was JESUS who had met him on that road, he knew he had a mission to fulfill. His mission was to teach a SAVING FAITH that absolutely changes us in freedom. That’s what the book of Galatians is. A book of saving faith that changes us in freedom.

Remember, Paul was once Saul, and Saul was all about the law before. Keep all 613 commands, or be damned. Earn your way in, or be kept out. But after his personal encounter with Jesus, he understood grace.

Paul is known as the apostle of GRACE. He used the word grace over 100 times in his writings, when all the other writers of the New Testament only used the word grace a total of 55 times. Why? Because Paul personally understood God’s grace. Only grace could have saved him. Only grace could have redirected him. Only grace could have brought all he had done so wrong into right standings. Only grace could cover him in forgiveness and call him to a divine purpose.

Nobody else would have chosen Paul, but God did. Why? Because he knew his potential.

But this isn’t just about Paul. God wants to use Paul to show you and I something too. He wants us to see how he personally chooses the unlikely ones. And when he has chosen you, nothing can stop that.

Nothing can dismiss God’s call on your life. No mistake you’ve made, no slow start, or ordinary roots.

Could you dare to believe you are God’s chosen girl? You have a divine calling on your life. He wants to use you. Yes, ordinary, flawed, confused you. Do you know why? Because you perfectly display the power of his GRACE.

It is God’s grace that makes us good enough. God’s grace that puts us in right standings. God’s grace that gives us the freedom to change into more than we have ever been before. God’s grace that gives us a new name, a new identity, a new story, and a new direction.

Stop dismissing yourself. God wants to use you!

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