Why does God delight in using nobodies as His nobility?
The first reason is found in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 29: "that no flesh should glory in His presence." When we get to heaven, not one of us will be able to say we got there on our own merit. We're saved simply by the grace of God. The second reason is found in verse 31, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." If we operate in our own strength and not God's, we risk taking the glory and credit for ourselves. Scripture tells us that we must be weak and low enough in order for God to use us.
Adrian Rogers told a story about a woodpecker pecking on a tree. In the middle of his pecking, a bolt of lightning hit that tree, splitting it right down the middle. The woodpecker backed off, surveyed the situation, and flew away. Later that day he returned with nine other woodpeckers. Proudly he said, "There it is, gentlemen. Right there. That's what I did."
When we do that as men and women, God shuts off the lightning. When you try to take credit for what God is doing, God shuts off the lightning and you are left with what you can do alone.
God wants to take us down to the very depths of ourselves to teach us that if there is any power, it is the power that is in God, and not in us. God doesn't need to make us into performers or superstars in order to use us. Instead, He's looking for men and women who have hearts that say, "Lord, I'm a nobody. I'm nothing without You. Will You use me?" When God finds such a heart, something extraordinary happens -- that nobody is promoted to the ranks of God's nobility.
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