I love reading about the great heroes of the faith. The Old Testament traces so many of their stories, and the New Testament gives us the shining highlights in that wonderful passage in Hebrews 11.
But as you and I reflect on these biblical heroes, there’s one pitfall we need to watch out for – and that’s putting these believers of old on a pedestal. It’s easy to conclude they were some kind of super-saints and end up thinking, I could never be like that!
But that’s a mistake.
Throughout history, God has chosen to use deeply flawed individuals to carry out His purposes. Jacob the deceiver. Moses the murderer. Gideon the idolater. David the adulterer.
Friend, there’s only one Hero in these famous stories from Scripture – and that’s our God, the Great I Am!
If there’s one thing worth reflecting on at the start of the new year, it’s this: Our God is all-powerful, all-sufficient, all-merciful… and He chooses to work in and through ordinary people like you and me.
This is the secret to walking by faith in 2022: Recognize your utter weakness, trust in His supreme strength, and expect Him to do wonderful things!
This is the pattern set for us by the Apostle Paul. He knew he was the “foremost of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), yet he also knew that God could use him to do extraordinary things for the Kingdom.
So my prayer for you this year is one that Paul prayed first for the church in Ephesus.
“Now to HIM who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to HIM be glory… forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21, emphasis mine)
God alone is the Hero and He’s inviting us to live in His heroic story. May the Great I Am bless you richly as you walk by faith in the year ahead!
