Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
— Acts 6:8


Stephen, the first martyr of the church, died at an early age. Some might look at the way he died and think, What a waste! But in the words of Jim Elliot, another young martyr for the faith, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

What kind of person does God look for to use for His glory? What qualifies a person to be selected by God to be His instrument? Is it a towering intellect or how many PhDs a person has on the wall? Do you have to be physically attractive? Do you need to be a born leader? How about someone who is a little timid? What about the person who isn't the most physically attractive? What about people whom many would classify as ordinary? Is there a place for someone like that?

I would suggest to you there is. Because one of the things that stands out from the pages of Scripture is that God seems to go out of His way to use people whom you'd never imagine He would. And if my life is evidence of anything, it is evidence of that.

So why does God do this? We find the answer in 1 Corinthians 1:27–29:
Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
God is looking for unexpected people to use for His glory. Are you willing to be one of them?