Last year, we counseled a heroine addict for five months, after he surrendered his life to the Lord in his 14th rehabilitation program since he was 18. He was then 32. And it was the first one he had ever been to that was Christian based. When we came into his life, he was racked with guilt because of all he had gone through, all that he had put his family through, and all the losses he had suffered because of his addiction. That was when the concept of "nothing is wasted" first really hit us. We had talked between ourselves about "where we used to be" as opposed to where were then, in Christ. But, the deep realization that God wastes nothing had not fully enveloped us. God changed that after just a few hours with Johnny.
Sometimes we go through some very rough conditions to train us for our true calling. Johnny had a great desire to help other addicts who were just coming out of rehab centers, trying to live a "normal" life. He could not have understood their needs without having been there himself.
There actually examples in Scripture of this very concept. David herded his father's sheep at a very young age. Biblical scholars believe him to have been around 16 to 18 when Samuel anointed him. Males were not counted as men, according to several places throughout Scripture, until they were 20. David was not referenced as a man, but still a boy when he volunteered to take on Goliath. But, because of experiences that no one knew of but him, he knew Who was his protector, and Who would bring about the victory. Later, when David was on the run from Saul, he learned battle strategies that would help him later when he fought as king, delivering Israel from her enemies. Those years as a sheepherder was not wasted. They taught him how to lead God's people. Those years running from Saul were not wasted. They taught him how to deliver God's people.
There is another example in Scripture, a little less obvious, but a huge building block in the construction of God's people. Back in Genesis is a story of a certain young man, somewhat spoiled, and a thorn in his brothers' side. His name was Joseph. We are familiar with his story. Thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, thrown in prison, then made second-in-command over Egypt in one day. But, what prepared him for that job as prime minister?
If we are not careful, we will skip right over the slight mention of it within his story, and focus on what his did because of the famine. But, when he was in prison, he had two major things going for him. The first was favor from God. We are told that God made sure he was well liked by the prison guard. The second was his job in the prison system. Scripture says he was in charge of distributing the meals to the prisoners. Meager helpings rationed out to every prisoner. This prepare him for the work he was to do later: ration out meager helping to everyone confined by the famine.
See: nothing is wasted. Whether God lines it up as a part of his plan, or it is somewhere that Satan takes us, God will use it. Beth Moore, in reference to the sexual abuse in her childhood, said it this way, "What Satan used to bind me up, God used to set me free."
We can all take courage from that. And, we can stop feeling guilty over our past. We can't call it a "mistake", if God is using it as a lesson to teach us something valuable. Nothing is wasted.
