Sometimes the blow comes from a brother. Sometimes the blessing comes from a man who doesn’t even claim to know God. That’s how strange—and how sovereign—our King is.
In the world of business, we’re trained to evaluate motives, read the room, and assign roles. Friends. Foes. Allies. Competitors. We like our categories clean. We prefer the “good guys” to wear white hats and the “bad guys” to make their moves in the dark. It’s more comfortable that way, more controllable.
But God doesn’t play by our labels.
He is not beholden to your “team” list. He doesn’t need to consult your spiritual scorecard.
He will use the righteous to refine you and the unrighteous to resource you.
He’ll sanctify you through a trusted friend’s rebuke, and fund a Gospel initiative through a woman who made her fortune apart from faith.
This is not because He is random. It’s because He is King. And His purposes cannot be boxed in.
The Kingdom’s Unlikely Allies
Take Robert Edmiston, for example. A British billionaire whose fortune was built not in a church pew but in the automotive industry. For years, Edmiston’s professional life was like many others—strategic, driven, and largely secular. But when God stepped in, everything changed. The transformation didn’t just touch Edmiston’s heart; it redirected his entire life.
He went on to found Christian Vision, an international ministry that has since spread the Gospel to millions across the globe. From South America to Southeast Asia, souls have encountered Christ through a movement launched not by a pastor, but by a businessman, once far from the faith, now fully surrendered.
That’s the way of the Kingdom. God anoints for purpose, not popularity.
He uses whatever—and whoever—He wants.
He used Pharaoh’s resistance to launch a national exodus. He stirred the heart of Cyrus, a Persian king, to rebuild Jerusalem’s temple. He even allowed Judas to set in motion the crucifixion of Jesus, an act of betrayal that opened the floodgates of salvation.
You and I might not choose those means. We’d likely disqualify the players.
But we’re not writing the story. He is.
Pain with a Purpose
Just as surprising is the way God chooses to discipline us.
It’s not always the enemy who wounds. Sometimes it’s a brother. A trusted leader. A godly mentor.
Not out of spite, but out of obedience. And if we’re honest, it stings more when the rebuke comes from someone we admire.
But Hebrews reminds us: “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves…” – Hebrews 12:6 (ESV).
That confrontation in the office? That hard conversation from your accountability group? That email that pointed out a blind spot? It may be God’s grace in disguise. He refines through rebuke. He sanctifies through struggle. And sometimes, He uses the people closest to you to shape you most profoundly.
We want the journey of faith to come through Sunday sermons and quiet times—and yes, God uses those.
But more often than not, it’s the sharp edges of real life, real friends, and real situations that God uses to form Christ in us.
The Marketplace Is Not an Exception
And here’s where it lands for us, the men and women called to live out our faith in the marketplace: your office isn’t exempt. Your industry isn’t outside the reach of divine strategy. Your quarterly planning session, your Zoom call with a skeptical client, your conversation with a resistant CEO; all of it sits under the sovereign eye of a God who uses all things for His glory and your good.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” —Genesis 50:20
Joseph said those words after years of betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment. He didn’t say them from a place of naïve optimism; he said them from a place of hard-won clarity. What others meant to destroy, God repurposed to deliver.
And He’s still doing that today.
So don’t be surprised when the blessing comes from an unbelieving investor. Or when the hardest words come from the holiest friend.
Don’t assume God isn’t moving just because the path feels upside-down.
He’s not interested in conventional. He’s interested in redemptive.
Your Call This Week
Don’t waste your energy this week trying to predict how God’s going to move. That’s not your job.
Just trust that He will.
In the chaos.
In the conflict.
In the kindness that catches you off guard.
Even in the criticism that cuts a little too close.
His fingerprints are everywhere—but most of the time, they don’t fit into the box you built.
He’s not playing by your outline. He’s working His own plan. A better one. Your role is not to manage His strategy. It’s to stay faithful in your assignment. So walk into that meeting with eyes wide open. Pray like the outcome isn’t yours to control—because it isn’t. Be ready for God to speak through someone you’ve written off. And don’t label anybody “unlikely.”
God has a way of casting the most surprising people in the most sacred roles.
Because this isn’t just your story. It’s His. And He knows exactly what He’s doing.
