37and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. [simple_tooltip content=’36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.’](Luke 2:36-40)[/simple_tooltip]
Let’s suppose Anna was fourteen years old when she married. That would have made her ninety-eight years old at the writing of this passage. Yet she was still fasting and praying night and day. This was an amazing woman for any time.
Satan tries to convince us that God won’t use us. He may cite things like age, lack of ability, or failures in our past; but just like Anna, there are many scriptural examples of God using those who would be considered unusable by worldly standards.
Moses was eighty before he began to fulfill God’s plan for his life, and he worked until he was one hundred twenty years old. Abraham was in his nineties before he had the son God had promised him. Obviously, age is not a factor when God chooses to use someone.
Gideon was another person who looked unusable. He was hiding from the Midianites when the angel of the Lord appeared and told him he was a mighty man of valor [simple_tooltip content=’11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”’](Judges 6:11-12)[/simple_tooltip]. He couldn’t believe it at first and had to have the Lord confirm it three times! Gideon is one of many examples that, truly, “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.” (1 Cor. 1:27,28)
If you feel foolish or weak, then you qualify to be chosen by God for a great mission. Look into the Word of God and see yourself as He sees you. Let Him use you today.
