Can God Use My Sin to Bring About Good?
Guess what? Your sin is not a secret to God. Every struggle, every battle, every time you feel overcome by temptation; God sees you and loves you. If you are anything like me then you’ve heard over and over again, God can’t bless a mess. I’m here to tell you that is exactly what He does. Where you are right now in your life is not a big surprise to the One who created you. Long before you were conceived God knew this moment in your life would be this moment in your life. He also knows the next decision you will make. Do you? Probably not but God does. That is one of the mysterious beauties of life. Regardless of the path you will choose to go down God is already there. Of course His desire is that you choose Him and His ways in all things but regardless of whether we do or not, when we belong to Him, He is still there cheering us on when faced with our next decision.
I remember the season when I came back to God after suffering from a deep depression. I desperately wanted to please Him in everything. My heart was to be at church all of the time and surround myself with my new godly friends. However I still had a group of friends that I loved and they loved to party. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them. What could I do? Or I guess I should say, what did I do? I partied with them on Friday night and Saturday night and went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night.
Every time I went to church after a weekend full of partying I felt conviction. It was good. It lead me to start praying for my friends. I invited some of them to church with me. Some came, some didn’t. I continued to hang out with them on the weekends but I stopped drinking with them. The more time I spent in bible study the more I understood why I couldn’t live both lives and be all that God wanted me to be. But during those times while I was dancing on the line, God still used me. He used me to pray for them. He used me to invite them to church. He used me to make connections that would have a ripple effect of blessings. And now I am still struggling with a lot of things but I know He is still using me. As long as we are still in the flesh we will never be perfect but that doesn’t mean that God can’t use us.
1 Samuel 16:7 says this, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”” Samuel had been instructed to find the new king and he was looking at the tall strong handsome sons of Jesse. However God’s pick was David. David, the youngest and scrawniest of the bunch. What amazes me most at God’s choice was the fact that God already knew David would commit adultery and murder. David’s actions didn’t specifically line up with what we would call “Christian” but underneath it all He really did have a heart to serve the Lord. I am by no means condoning adultery or murder but I think the point is clear in that God can still use us at the same time He is purifying us of our sin. David paid greatly for his sin. Read 2 Samuel 11-12.
Just like God knew the real David He knows the real you. He loves you. He sees you for what you can be not just who you are. That is why He will use you regardless of your current status. If you are willing to be used He will use you. After all He used a donkey to speak to Balaam and if He can use a donkey He can certainly use you.
I remember a very specific season in my life where my outward appearance didn’t quite line up with my heart that was to serve God but God used me anyway. Over 20 years later my church is still being blessed because of it. I met a lady at the place I was working almost 20 years ago. She was brazen and I avoided her...haha! One day while on break I was sitting outside on the rear entry stairs smoking a cigarette. Smoking was the hardest thing for me to quit but eventually I did (Praise God!). I was smoking about a pack a day and begging God to take them from me. I just couldn’t lay them down. Any way on this particular day I was puffing away and she came out. She was a smoker too. She sat down beside me and started talking. God opened a door for me to talk about Him. Next thing you know she is visiting my church. Next thing you know her neighbor is visiting our church. Next thing you know her neighbor’s cousin is preaching a revival at our church. Years later that same preacher became our new pastor when our then pastor took a sabbatical because he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now 10 years after that he has retired and his brother is our new pastor. All because a cigarette break brought 2 people together that would have not come together otherwise.
Don’t think for a second that God can’t use you or bless you in the midst of your struggles or while you are fighting to lay your sin down. Don’t let the enemy convince you that because you still have sin in your life (that you are trying with all you have to let go) that you can’t be used by God. You can. It is allowing God to use you despite your struggles that will eventually set you free. It will also inspire others that are struggling to seek God for help. He wants to use all of you including your mess. Romans 8:28 says this, “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” If we allow Him to, He will use even our sin, to bring about good.
It was being used by God while struggling with smoking and other sin in my life that I had this revelation...If God can use me here and now in this moment to do His work, how much more can He do through me once I’ve been delivered from it. With each new level you become stronger, you have more faith and you have more testimonies to share. You will also have the knowledge you need to help someone else who is exactly where you have been. You have to start somewhere. So start exactly where you are. Pray this simple prayer, “God, I may not be where I need to be, but I’m going to let you use me anyway. Amen.” And He will.
I remember the season when I came back to God after suffering from a deep depression. I desperately wanted to please Him in everything. My heart was to be at church all of the time and surround myself with my new godly friends. However I still had a group of friends that I loved and they loved to party. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them. What could I do? Or I guess I should say, what did I do? I partied with them on Friday night and Saturday night and went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night.
Every time I went to church after a weekend full of partying I felt conviction. It was good. It lead me to start praying for my friends. I invited some of them to church with me. Some came, some didn’t. I continued to hang out with them on the weekends but I stopped drinking with them. The more time I spent in bible study the more I understood why I couldn’t live both lives and be all that God wanted me to be. But during those times while I was dancing on the line, God still used me. He used me to pray for them. He used me to invite them to church. He used me to make connections that would have a ripple effect of blessings. And now I am still struggling with a lot of things but I know He is still using me. As long as we are still in the flesh we will never be perfect but that doesn’t mean that God can’t use us.
1 Samuel 16:7 says this, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”” Samuel had been instructed to find the new king and he was looking at the tall strong handsome sons of Jesse. However God’s pick was David. David, the youngest and scrawniest of the bunch. What amazes me most at God’s choice was the fact that God already knew David would commit adultery and murder. David’s actions didn’t specifically line up with what we would call “Christian” but underneath it all He really did have a heart to serve the Lord. I am by no means condoning adultery or murder but I think the point is clear in that God can still use us at the same time He is purifying us of our sin. David paid greatly for his sin. Read 2 Samuel 11-12.
Just like God knew the real David He knows the real you. He loves you. He sees you for what you can be not just who you are. That is why He will use you regardless of your current status. If you are willing to be used He will use you. After all He used a donkey to speak to Balaam and if He can use a donkey He can certainly use you.
I remember a very specific season in my life where my outward appearance didn’t quite line up with my heart that was to serve God but God used me anyway. Over 20 years later my church is still being blessed because of it. I met a lady at the place I was working almost 20 years ago. She was brazen and I avoided her...haha! One day while on break I was sitting outside on the rear entry stairs smoking a cigarette. Smoking was the hardest thing for me to quit but eventually I did (Praise God!). I was smoking about a pack a day and begging God to take them from me. I just couldn’t lay them down. Any way on this particular day I was puffing away and she came out. She was a smoker too. She sat down beside me and started talking. God opened a door for me to talk about Him. Next thing you know she is visiting my church. Next thing you know her neighbor is visiting our church. Next thing you know her neighbor’s cousin is preaching a revival at our church. Years later that same preacher became our new pastor when our then pastor took a sabbatical because he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now 10 years after that he has retired and his brother is our new pastor. All because a cigarette break brought 2 people together that would have not come together otherwise.
Don’t think for a second that God can’t use you or bless you in the midst of your struggles or while you are fighting to lay your sin down. Don’t let the enemy convince you that because you still have sin in your life (that you are trying with all you have to let go) that you can’t be used by God. You can. It is allowing God to use you despite your struggles that will eventually set you free. It will also inspire others that are struggling to seek God for help. He wants to use all of you including your mess. Romans 8:28 says this, “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” If we allow Him to, He will use even our sin, to bring about good.
It was being used by God while struggling with smoking and other sin in my life that I had this revelation...If God can use me here and now in this moment to do His work, how much more can He do through me once I’ve been delivered from it. With each new level you become stronger, you have more faith and you have more testimonies to share. You will also have the knowledge you need to help someone else who is exactly where you have been. You have to start somewhere. So start exactly where you are. Pray this simple prayer, “God, I may not be where I need to be, but I’m going to let you use me anyway. Amen.” And He will.
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