“Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise person benefit him?
3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
What people have said about us or to us can shape our lives. We might have been told something as a kid that marked us in a bad way and now as adults, we cannot shake that definition off of us. We might have said some not so kind things in a argument and wish we could take them back. We might even be thinking that we are nothing useful at all and God can never use me or that I am too messed up. I have some good news for you today, God can use you. Lets read about Eliphaz and his statement to Job, it might sound familiar.
The verses above come from Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends. If we are honest with ourselves we often think the same thing. We look at our lives and think, “I am of no use to God, just look at the mess I am”. A more softer tone might be, “I cannot come to church because I am still struggling in this one area.” Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. In a way, Eliphaz is right. Man, sinful man, cannot be of any help to God. All throughout the Bible the wicked are called out by prophets and teachers. It says how they will be judged. As Christians, we are called to run from wicked and sinful things of this world. All of us have sinned and all of us do not and are not useful to the Lord in that condition.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Paul was addressing all of those people in the Ephesian church that believed in a works based honor system to get saved- familiar to the ways of the Old Testament and all the sacrifices and rituals. We can never work enough, be repentant enough, or help countless numbers of old ladies across the street enough to deserve the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We, on our own, cannot and will not be enough. Eliphaz was spot on in that regard. However, if you have been under the thumb of oppression and turmoil for a long time, coming to the conclusion of being of no help is an easy realization.
The good news is that Christ came to set us free from law of sin and death. This law of sacrifice and atonement for your sins was finished when Christ died on the cross for you. He paid for the whole worlds sins, including yours. The crazy thing is all we have to do is accept Jesus as our savior and lay it all his feet and live for Him. The entire Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. His sacrifice took away the burden we feel that we must carry alone; our sin was washed clean by His grace.
Today, I encourage you to reach out to the Lord in your current condition. He says in Matthew 11:28-30, “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Let Jesus lift the burden of sin and shame off of you today. We were made in the image of God and we were never designed to carry the burden of sin. Adam and Eve sinned and Jesus was the perfect sin offering. He died for all of our sins so that we would have eternal life.
No, if Jesus died for you on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, I believe that means you can be of use to God no matter what. Your testimony is a living story on how God set you free and you should tell everyone about it! God sent his Holy Spirit to us (Acts 1:8) so we could be His witnesses on this earth. He loves you and wants nothing more than for you to know it and show it. Be baptized in the Holy Spirit today. “Can a man be of any use to God?” Yes we can and we are the His children and sheep of His pasture. Jesus will turn your life around so you can be used of God.
Prayer: Father, help us stop the stinking thinking. Help us to stop telling ourselves and others about how useless we are. You know our hearts and You know every way we have fallen short, but You still love us unconditionally. Help us to speak the promises of word of God out of our mouths today. Faith is the currency of Heaven and I pray we use it because God wants us to have His Spirit and live victoriously. I thank you for your amazing forgiveness and grace for me. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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