2 Corinthians 12:9(ESV)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The NFL commissioner came to the podium and announced “with the 256 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Arizona Cardinals select Gerald Christian”.

Does that name, Gerald Christian, mean anything to you?  If not don’t worry about it.  Most people have no idea who he is and may never know.  He was the last person picked last year in the NFL draft and is given the title “Mr. Irrelevant”. They name the last person drafted Mr. Irrelevant because odds are that they won’t make the team they were drafted to.  In fact, they may never step foot on the field.  There are hundreds more that didn’t get drafted that feel irrelevant too.

It might remind us of school yard kickball, dodgeball game.  Two people pick teams. Little by little the crowd is whittled down until one remains. Neither one wants to take the last one there and care very little for their feelings. It’s very tough feeling irrelevant. It really hurts when that label has been applied to you. Sooner or later, you start to believe it and start acting that way.

Over the years there are a number of people that were drafted as “Mr. Irrelevant” that made the team. There were several that had great careers. These men chose not to let the label define them. These men didn’t look at the odds, the circumstances or history. These men chose to be relevant. They chose to work harder, do more and make the team. They didn’t let a label placed on them choose their destiny.

You may be reading this today with the mindset that you’re irrelevant. Maybe you weren’t picked for the job. Maybe no one remembered it was your birthday. Maybe no one appreciates all you do to make ends meet. The enemy wants to come in and tell you that your life is irrelevant. He wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy you. Don’t listen to the lies that say you are irrelevant. That your life is worthless. That no one wants you. That your life has no meaning. You mean more to God than you can ever comprehend. Your dark times are the very thing that will make you relevant.

There are so many people who are and will go through something similar to your circumstances. God needs someone who’s been there, walked in those shoes and dealt with the pain of feeling irrelevant in order to help them. He needs you to draw on your experiences to give hope to those who have none. Being picked last is a blessing. It means that God can use you to reach others who will be picked last. He makes beauty from ashes. He has to let your life be torn down sometimes in order to build it back up. He can take a life that seems irrelevant and make it relevant. It’s up to us to not give up during those times so He can make what you’re going through relevant.

The real proof that there are no, “Mr or Miss irrelevants is found in the most popular verse in the Bible…

John 3:16,

for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.