Dwight L. Moody was greatly moved by a lay preacher’s statement that the world has yet to see what God can do through a person fully yielded to Him. Because an attitude of submission is far more important than outward appearance, some unlikely people have become spiritual giants.

The first time I met Pete, he had a 2-day growth of stubble, a missing front tooth, and a suit that looked as if he had slept in it. But I discovered that God was using him in an unusual way to reach disadvantaged people.

Philip Yancey described the late Bill Leslie as “disheveled,” “disorganized,” and one who “laughed uproariously at his own (bad) jokes.” But he points out that as pastor of the LaSalle Street Church in Chicago, this man had led many people to Christ and brought great social and economic changes to that part of the city. This unlikely spiritual giant died at age 60 after three decades of work in the inner city.

Pete and Bill remind me of John the Baptist. Although he lived as a recluse and wore a rough, camel’s-hair garment, he had a ministry to thousands. Jesus called him the greatest of the prophets (Lk. 7:28).

God uses ordinary people, and He wants to use you. Serve Him humbly, zealously, and expectantly.

  — Herbert Vander Lugt