God is not just the God of good people. He is a God over all the failures and mess ups in humanity and He’s asking you to be something you think you cannot be and He wants you to do something you think you cannot do.

In Exodus 3, Moses was tending sheep when an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Moses looked up and saw the bush burning, yet the brush was not consumed.

God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” God instructed Moses to take off his sandals on the holy ground. And then God shared this, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Wait, Wait, Wait… the God of Jacob?

Abraham was a friend of God. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness.

Isaac was the promised miracle child. Isaac was a holy birth to a dead womb and the consequences of his father’s faith. Isaac was the culmination of Abraham’s faith.

But Jacob? Jacob’s name means trickster. Jacob was a con-artist and the black sheep of the family. Jacob was a disgrace to the holy dynasty.

It is shocking that God would be the God of Jacob. It is the anti-thesis of religion and an embarrassment to the church. Jacob was a mess. Jacob had a chaotic past and lived some questionable situations. Jacob didn’t always tell the truth. He was a result of a long line of con-artists.

Why would God associate himself with the character of Jacob? Maybe because there is a little Jacob in all of us.

In this place in the bible, God was trying to convince Moses that he could be used. Moses had murdered a man in Egypt and had been living as an outlaw for 40 years. Moses was stuck on his stutter. Moses didn’t think he could be used by God to speak to kings because he couldn’t talk right.

God is not just the God of those who live righteous all the days of their life and are virgins on their wedding day. He’s not just the God of the people who don’t smoke or get drunk.

There may be something you think disqualifies you from being used by God, but God is reminding you that He is the God of the Jacob too. He is the God of anyone who has made mistakes, been to jail, had an abortion, gone through bankruptcy, went through divorce, or was addicted to drugs and drinking. God is a God of rejected people, not just the pure and prestigious.

God called you and equipped you. God is going to use you with your deficiencies, your vulnerabilities and those insecurities. If you’ve been wounded, hurt, ostracized, and rejected, none of this will keep you from being used by God. You don’t need to try to fit in with people. God can use you right where you’re at. This is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

This is your time to step up, and take back what the enemy stole from you. Take back your joy, your peace, your spirit, and your confidence. Your eyes have not seen nor have your ears heard how the Lord is going to use you. God is getting ready to take you into another dimension of your destination.

If you have a story stocked with years of mistakes, mishaps, setbacks, rejection, and pain, I want you to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is your God too. You are a recipient of God’s mercy and saving grace. Things in your life may have been delayed, but I want you to know that you haven’t been denied!

This post, The God of Jacob by Trisha Keehn, appeared first on LiftUpYourDay.com