Lord, you want to use . . . who?

While reading my Bible this morning, I was once again astounded by the types of people God chooses to use. In particular, I was reading the book of Judges and several people stood out. God used Gideon, who came from a family of idol worshipers and was hiding from his enemies in fear when God came to him (Judges 6-7). How about Deborah (Judges 4-5)? As a woman, should would not have been given the time of day in her culture, yet God chose her to step up (when no men had the courage) and deliver her people from oppression. Or consider Shamgar, an outsider who had few resources at his disposal, but that was no big deal for God. He enabled Shamgar to defeat 600 of his enemies by using only a sharp stick (Judges 3:31)! What about Jephthah (Judges 11)? He was the son of a prostitute and was run out of town by his own family. Samson (Judges 13-16) was an impetuous man who made more bad (read: sinful) decisions that I can count and got caught sleeping with the enemy (literally) more than once.
The list could go on and on. God makes it his business to use imperfect people. Consider the following verses from the pen of the apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (ESV)  26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Why does God choose to use the types of people that we wouldn’t? Verse 29 tells us: so that he might get the glory and, if there’s any bragging to be done, it should be about him and not ourselves. Do you ever feel inadequate or useless to God because of your past or lack of eloquence, skill, ability or some other shortcoming? Then you are right where God wants you to be!