Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. (2 Kings 22:1)

DO YOU WONDER if God can or will use you? Perhaps you want to serve God but worry you might be too young, too old, too inexperienced, or too broken. Human logic sees potential roadblocks caused by each real or imagined imperfection in our lives.

Throughout the Bible, God shows how He loves to use people of every age, background, skill set, and ethnicity. Young Josiah was born into a family characterized by sin. His father and grandfather used their authority as kings of Judah to lead the country away from God. As an eight–year-old child, Josiah found himself thrust into a leadership position immediately following his father’s murder. From a human perspective Josiah was too young, his family too broken, his loss too insurmountable, but God saw something else. He saw a heart willing to seek the truth and be guided by it.

God told His servant Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The Lord works the same way today. If you find yourself focusing on inadequacies in your life, remember what God looks at. As He did with Josiah, He will look past your flawed situation and search for a heart ready to be guided by His truth.

Work towards making your heart useful to God.

Leah E. Good is a daughter of God, lover of stories, and passionate orphan care advocate. She lives with her family in beautiful New England.

© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.