Just Like the Rest of Us!

Yesterday, while my family ate lunch at a restaurant, we noticed that the Styrofoam cups had various Bible verse references printed on them. The kids called out the verses and I used the Bible app to look them up and read them aloud. Allison called out 1 Kings 1:1, so I looked it up and read it to myself. I laughed because I knew that couldn't be one the verses on the cups. The verse says, "King David was now very old, and no matter how many blankets covered him, he could not keep warm." 

I read it to the kids, and we all laughed. Allison admitted she just said a random verse. We talked about the people we know that are always cold, wear multiple layers of clothing, and always need blankets. We also discussed why verses like these are in the Bible. Yes, they're funny, but maybe they were included to help us understand that the people of the Bible were normal human beings, just like the rest of us. 

Some other verses in the Bible expose this truth as well: 

Moses had a speech impediment. (Exodus 4:10)

Elijah dealt with depression even though he had just witnessed a miracle of God. (1 Kings 19: 4-5)

Elisha was bullied for being bald. (2 Kings 2:23)

Peter and the other disciples were exhausted. (Luke 9:32)

Zacchaeus was very short. (Luke 19:3)

Timothy dealt with a stomach condition. (1 Timothy 5:23)

It's tempting to read the Bible and believe those people are simply characters in a story. They can seem larger than life, with no doubts or problems. I believe God had verses like 1 Kings 1:1 inserted in the Bible so that readers will know that even King David, a man after God's own heart, got cold and needed a blanket. He included so many verses and stories to prove that the people of the Bible are just normal human beings, ones that we can relate to. Even with their issues and physical limitations, God used them! 

In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul shares his own difficulty, or the thorn in his side, as it's referred to. He asks God three times to remove the thorn, but verse 9 says, "Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."

Whether you are exhausted, depressed, being treated poorly, desperate to see Jesus, suffer from chronic physical illnesses, or can't seem to get warm, God can still use you! Regardless of your age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, mental state, or physical condition, when God sees a willing heart, nothing can keep Him from working in and through you.

As you read the Bible, let it be a reminder that if God can use them, He can use you!

Tori