Apparently, being a handful is not a dealbreaker for God. He has used stubborn, hot-tempered, impulsive, argumentative, fearful, and sometimes an absolute pain in the… King James donkey type people on many occasions. 🫏 Sometimes the most unlikely people are the ones God uses to show the rest of us just what He can do. Here are a few of His handpicked headaches.
Jacob
What made him difficult? Jacob manipulated Esau out of his birthright and later deceived Isaac to receive Esau’s blessing.
How did God use him? God renamed Jacob Israel, and his twelve sons became the foundation of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Moses
What made him difficult? Moses argued with God about his calling, repeatedly explained why he was the wrong man for the job, and later let his anger get the better of him.
How did God use him? God used Moses to confront Pharaoh, lead Israel out of Egypt, receive the Law, and shepherd His people through the wilderness.
Samson
What made him difficult? Samson repeatedly let appetite, attraction, anger, and impulse override good judgment.
How did God use him? God used Samson to begin delivering Israel from Philistine oppression.
David
What made him difficult? David could be impulsive and vengeful, and his choices involving Bathsheba and Uriah were catastrophic.
How did God use him? God made David king, established a covenant with him, and placed him in the family line through which Jesus would come.
Elijah
What made him difficult? Elijah could be fiercely confrontational and later became so discouraged that he believed he was standing alone.
How did God use him? God used Elijah to confront idolatry, challenge kings, perform miracles, and call Israel back toward Him.
Jonah
What made him difficult? Jonah ran from God, resisted his assignment, resented God’s mercy toward Nineveh, and then argued with God about it.
How did God use him? Jonah preached to Nineveh, and the city responded by turning from its wickedness.
James & John
What made them difficult? The “Sons of Thunder” could be intensely ambitious and once wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village.
How did God use them? Both became key disciples. James became a leader in the early church, and John became one of the most influential voices of the New Testament.
Peter
What made him difficult? Peter argued with Jesus, overpromised, spoke before thinking, and once responded to an arrest by pulling a sword.
How did God use him? Jesus restored Peter and entrusted him with caring for His followers. Peter became one of the central leaders of the early church.
Paul
What made him difficult? Before following Jesus, Paul’s intensity made him a fierce persecutor of Christians. Later, a sharp disagreement with Barnabas caused the two men to separate.
How did God use him? God redirected that same relentless intensity into missionary work that carried the gospel across the Roman world and produced much of the New Testament.