THE FLAWED AS CHOSEN:
God's conduits for the brokenhearted
I Corinthians 1:27 “For God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty...”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.”
Sometimes in the Spirit, I am sitting in a rowboat amidst a rushing river, anchored against destruction by the Rock I am tied to, not thrown into the fray. I can guarantee the rock is not sandstone but granite, not moved by the flow. Who is that Rock? God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have long particularly related to 1 Corinthians 1:27, as I am certainly one of the “foolish” and one of the “weak” spoken of in this powerful verse from Apostle Paul. No, this is not condemnation but honorable fellowship with those wired like me and who are often overwhelmed by the pressures of the world.
Why would God not follow the “ logical path” of choosing the highly educated, the gorgeous, the “influencer” types, the top doggo, the smooth and serene, not ruffled or fluffed and seemingly not in distress? Who needs the imperfect “messoes” who dare to reveal weakness and imperfections and flaws, the cardinal sin...
Not allowed, yes?
Mind you, I am not condemning those who have the traits mentioned just above. I am simply making an observation, as per 1 Corinthians 1:27, of whom God chooses and that I remain in the “weak and foolish” camp, based on my temperament and my life history.
I have my handy-dandy 73-year-old summation, based on my remaining shards of the jagged-edged cynic with a rather jaundiced view of the (sometimes) sincerely insincere people named above: too full of the perfect view of themselves and their virtue, perhaps, and never seem to need much help! I perceive they likely have hidden fears and uncertainties, unrevealed and skillfully so, with some measure of bravado. Time will tell. Not my corner…
I think God just may choose the desperate, those unashamedly in terrible need for His help, because they have nothing to lose and simply, in the core of things, grab His offered hand with no regret. I cannot rely on my own “greatness”, I need God!
God does things totally unexpectedly...choosing the least likely “ success models” ever, with such Biblical characters like Gideon, who when met with an unexpected Angel who greeted him with “mighty man of God”, said “where??”, like the shepherd and bumpkin youngest kid, David, who learned directly in the field, protecting his flocks from predators, using his sling and stones ( which skill later killed the Philistine giant Goliath, threatening his people) and later became King, like a gnarly fisherman Simon Peter, who warned Christ at the shoreline after a miraculous full net of fish, “ get away from me, I’m a sinful man”), like Elijah, who, alone, conquered a hostile mob and then when further threatened, fled in a deep depression and wanted to die when God gently questioned him...
Like me...deep empath, sensitive soul and not a top success in the world...not impressive.
Talk about a poker game...combined with chess...neither of which I know.
This is not the formidable and reputable among the “elites”, the Graduate schools of high business...this is “resourceful-street smart, advanced level” from the “foolish”, the base, the dismissed, the poor. Hiding in plain sight, He uses the hidden and the unusual and for some reason, He chooses them most often above the “noble.”
I remember USA President Calvin Coolidge’s brilliant and rough-hewn and time-tested statement about how “the world is full of educated derelicts” and how “persistence and determination are omnipotent.” ( look it up!!) and what a profound counsel of the human condition it is. How many entrepreneurs left college before graduating? How much wealth has been created by “get out and do, don’t study only...”
My challenge is DOING more and not THINKING so much!
Hey, I flunked Pre-algebra in 9th grade...the only D I received in high school...the letters and numbers just never made sense to me. Writing I was good at, words I thrived on, history I loved, communication I did well in...but contrary math floored me.
The world still pressures, it scorns, it heaps and demands PRODUCTION and no issues.
Umm...could I have a (loud) word)??
Nothin’ smooth about this world...with some elements of raw, rowdy, rasty,
unpleasant, drunken, stoned, unrepentant, uncooperative, impolite, impolitic , vulgar, mean and dismissive...and cluttered! Yes...there are plenty of good things, this is not an “ only bad” screed...but this is a slice of reality or at least the one I am most familiar with.
The pressure on people, especially on the “ordinaries” is formidable and relentless.
Father God, however, takes you where you are at any given moment, and as the divine Potter, begins, with our cooperation and partnership, to shape us, to cleanse, to heal, to reorder, to transform, to make us into whom He designed us to be. We were not designed to be in all this constant mess...but have we known any who were in order and not at least in some disarray??
The world is overloaded with pronouncements and shame and judgments more than an inch deep.
To even confirm one has not “achieved” much is heresy.
Plain and simple, I cannot keep up. I have worked plenty of jobs in my life.
I am sober in all ways, I am not in debt, I am not profligate, I am a recovering cynic and curmudgeon, I am a returned Prodigal to my Christian faith, I learned viscerally, what not to do.
I am also one of the very humble vessels for God’s use, to bind up the brokenhearted, as I have direct experience with it.
The binding up process is not a simple fun-house...it is very ragged and intense and some nights I would prefer to run for the hills...
Fingertips...don’t let go of God’s hand! Don’t trust your own strength!!
As Papa God told me a few days back...” One step. Stop. Solidify. One step. Stop. Solidify. One step. Stop, Solidify.” Not a run but a holy plod. Generate an anchor, dig the stable foundation before leaping the buildings. Anchor first.
Continue, take as directed. So what if you are not on top of the “heap”...the heap is just as messy as the rest, it is just more hidden. I am impressed with the humble, not so much the high and mighty. Humble is the starting place.
Just as God told me Thursday night, March 26, 2026 in my fellowship with Him, “I don’t t seek the dazzling, I seek the dogged.”
Wow…
Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, March 27, 2026
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“I don’t seek the dazzling, I seek the dogged.”
That's some great truth right there!
My only D was in Geometry. (Did I squeak by in Algebra too? Can't remember! Oh no, maybe that was a D too!)