God Uses The Unexpected

Once we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and as we come to know the Lord by spending time with Him, we will reach a point in our life where our love will overflow in a desire for service. It’s at this place that many believers come to a screeching halt. They look at themselves and think, “How can God use me when I’ve made so many mistakes?” Perhaps, other people will become critical and tell us, “There’s no way that God can use you, for you are spiritually immature.”

We might look upon ourselves as being insignificant or useless, and others might hold our past against us; however, the Lord sees our significance. By His grace our mistakes and failures have been cast into the very depths of the sea (Mi 7:19); and the Bible says that as far as the east is from the west, so the Lord has removed our transgressions (Ps 103:12). God can and will use us despite how we feel about ourselves, or how others perceive us. Why? Because the Lord knows our heart (1 Sm 16:7), and He knows what He is able to accomplish in and through us by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

There is the story of a man in the 1800’s who would have been considered a failure by many of his peers. He had less than three years of formal education in his life. In 1831 he failed in business; in 1832 he ran for the legislature and was defeated; [and] in 1833 he failed again in business.

In 1834 he was elected to the legislature; in 1838 he was defeated for speaker; in 1840 he was defeated for elector; in 1843 he was defeated for Congress; in 1846 he was elected to Congress and again defeated in 1848; he was defeated for Senate in 1855; defeated for the Vice Presidency in 1856; and he was defeated for the Senate in 1858. His name was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States.(1)

Lincoln is a prime example of how failures and mistakes do not always determine a negative outcome and future. I wish to share another illustration:

In 1879, a child was born to a poor Jewish merchant. In early life the boy suffered a haunting sense of inferiority because of the anti-Semitic feelings he encountered on every hand. Shy and introspective, the boy was so slow in learning that his parents had him examined by specialists to see if he was normal.

In 1895, he failed his entrance examination at the Polytechnicum in Zurich, Switzerland, though a year later he tried again and succeeded. Later he received a doctorate from the University of Zurich, yet obtained only an obscure job as a patent examiner in the Berne patent office. Who was he? The man who formulated the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived!(2)

Many times those who are underestimated and considered failures go on to accomplish great things in society. The same principle is true in the kingdom of God. The Lord oftentimes uses people who are rejected to bring glory to the kingdom and to Himself. Jesus Christ was rejected by many, and yet He became the Savior of the world. The Bible says of Him, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Lk 20:17).

In our message today we will examine the account of David’s anointing to understand exactly why the Lord chooses to work through unexpected people for His kingdom purposes.

The Former Candidate Is Disqualified (v. 1)

Life appears to be a popularity contest. Human beings tend to choose others based on superficial factors, such as looks and personality, and this can oftentimes lead to trouble. Israel had to learn this lesson the hard way, as the chosen and elected king made such a grave mistake that it cost him his throne. When we pick up the account, Samuel had been commanded to find a new king to replace the former one:

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).

We read here that Saul was rejected as king of Israel. How did this come about? Well, the answer is found back in 1 Samuel chapter fifteen. We read that God had commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites because they had formerly ambushed Israel when the people were making their exodus from Egypt (1 Sm 15:1-3). Saul was supposed to have killed all the Amalekites and destroyed their property and livestock, but he was disobedient to God’s command.