23rd October 2025

Who does God work with to help fulfil his purposes? Humanly we might think it would be those who are strong, or wealthy, or well educated, or have the right social status or connections. After all that often seems to be how people ‘get ahead’ in the world around us. But often God surprises us. Consider just a few of those God chose to help further his plans:

• Moses, who was slow of speech and tongue’ (Exodus 4:10), yet led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and delivered the laws God gave to them.
• Rahab, who was a prostitute, yet protected two spies Joshua had chosen to scout out Jericho and the surrounding land. (Joshua 2).
• David, who was the overlooked youngest brother (I Samuel 16:11), who later committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed (II Samuel 11), yet slayed Goliath (I Samuel 17), and became the greatest king of the nation of Israel (II Samuel 5).
• Jonah, who tried to run away from God’s instructions (Jonah 1:2-3) but was captured by a great fish (Jonah 1:17) and brought back to preach God’s message to Nineveh (Jonah 3:3).
• Saul, who persecuted Christians and had them murdered (Acts 7-9), but later became the Apostle Paul who took the gospel powerfully to the Gentile world.

None of these had a very auspicious start. It’s probably unlikely we’d have expected them to play a significant role in the biblical story. But people who may seem of little value to us or our society can be very useful in God’s service.

In Paul’s letter to Philemon, we meet another man with a fairly dubious record. Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his master, and perhaps even stole from him. Yet an encounter with the imprisoned Paul brought him to faith in Christ. Onesimus’s life changed, and he became not only a very helpful servant for Paul, but also the bearer of a powerful message of grace from Paul to Onesimus’s master Philemon. ‘Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me’, wrote Paul (Philemon v.11). And Onesimus’s name is particularly appropriate, because it means ‘useful’ or ‘profitable’.

So, who does God work with to fulfil his purposes? Anyone he chooses, and often ordinary people who seemingly have fairly unfavourable qualifications. Maybe like Onesimus they even seem useless. In fact, all of them are sinners. But God works in them powerfully through the Holy Spirit. And his work continues through Christians today – sinners who are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. 

Who is God working with now? Could we have a part to play?

Local congregation:
Grace Communion Peterborough
Farcet Village Hall                                                    
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN

Meeting time
Sunday 11.00 am

Local congregational contact:
Richard Dempsey
Email:  richard.dempsey@btinternet.com
Local church website: GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH PETERBOROUGH – Landing Page

Word of Life contact:w
ordoflife@gracecom.church