In Stephen’s testimony before the council, he recounts the story of Moses, who had been called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery. Moses got ahead of God, and the people rejected him as their leader. Forty years later, God told Moses it was time. In the words of Stephen:
“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.” (Acts 7:35–38, ESV)
The grace of God is great enough to use people for His purposes, even if it appears they were failures before!
