2 Corinthians 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses
One of my best sermons to date is that which Bishop T.D. Jakes preached in about 1999. “Why Lord, did you choose David to be King of Israel?” cried Bishop Jakes as he endeavored to bring his preaching to an end. Instantly God's response came through the same mouth that had asked saying, “I chose David because he would never forget where I got him from. He will always give Me the glory for all that will be accomplished through him.”
As a one year old babe in Christ who had recently received a glimpse of my great destiny, I wondered why God had chosen me with the utterance picked from Isaiah 49, “You are my servant, in whom I will display my splendor. And because I honor you, it is too small a thing for you to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the nations, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” That greatness of my calling got me bewildered why God had, among all my friends at the time, singled me out for that purpose. You see, I was born in a very lowly family; I was never brilliant throughout my academics, and I had a major speech impediment that was made worse by the fear I had of speaking in public. On the contrary, my contemporaries had everything going for them. They were not only intelligent, they were close to the art of genius itself, truth is, many of them were well mannered, deserving to be Christ's ambassadors to the nations seeing that they would bring Him no shame. One in particular was a Reverend's child; his diplomatic style of walking was often described as the “Jesus bounce.” He was the type who was never at fault in any relationship. As for me, I needed prayers. Yet God chose me!
T.D. Jakes, therefore, was a Godsend at that particular time of my life. God was letting me know that just like David, He picked me from the crowd because of my many weaknesses, for He knew “Moses will never forget where I got him from. He will always give me the glory for all that will be accomplished through him.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” That passage is one of my best in the Bible. To this day, I greatly admire brilliant people like my wife Geraldine; I wish I could be like them. I often stare at real gentlemen and ladies, seeing how cultured they are. My comfort though is the "ever-remembrance" that it is because of what I do not have and my many weaknesses that God chose me for a great calling.
Never forget that it is weaknesses that qualify people for God's work. As many people have said, "God is not looking for ability but rather availability." He is looking for you who will acknowledge that you are nothing without Him. You are the person who will do everything by Christ who will strengthen you. If you are broke and poor, you are a potential Financial Prosperity Overseer of your nation.
About ten years ago, I was privileged to have a one-on-one with Darlene Zschech, a famous worshipper who was with Hillsong Church, much so responsible for the songs and blessing that this church, Hillsong, has brought forth to the nations. So here I was, a waiter at three dinners she had attended, dutifully, on one of these dinners, I served her and she told me that as a child she could not speak - she had a severe stuttering problem. You now can see what could have been the qualification when God was searching for a great worship leader.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul said, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” You dear reader, it is precisely because you are weak that you qualify for greatness in God's Kingdom. Power is for the helpless and grace is for “nothings”. Delight therefore in the "fake" that you are, and you will see the salvation of the Lord.
God bless you.