04/09/2026
Today’s Word is from Philemon 1:11 (NIV):
“Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.”
When I read Philemon, one thing became so personal to me:
No one is too far gone to be transformed and used by God.
Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his master, Philemon. He had done wrong. He was someone who had every reason to be rejected.
But somewhere along the way, Onesimus encountered Paul.
And Paul said something beautiful about him:
“Formerly he was useless… but now he has become useful.”
When I read that, I asked myself:
How can someone who once ran away, someone who had done wrong, become useful to an apostle?
Then I remembered what Paul wrote in Colossians 4:9. He described Onesimus as a “faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.”
Nganong nabago man? Unsa may nahitabo?
He encountered Jesus.
And someone stayed long enough to help him grow.
Paul didn’t just see Onesimus according to his past.
He saw what grace could make him become.
And this reminded me of my own story.
I am so grateful because God gave me a spiritual leader who did the same thing for me.
Nagsugod ra mi og tulo.
Every Thursday night, she would come to us carrying her Bible.
At that time, we had nothing.
We couldn’t offer her anything.
Usahay, magkaboang pa mig pangita og sinsilyo sa ibabaw sa ref para lang makakape siya.
But she kept coming.
She showed up.
During the storms, she was there.
During the scorching heat, she was there.
Even when things were difficult, she would still come, sit with us, open her Bible, and share the Word.
Sometimes all she could say was,
“Okay ra na.”
Three became five then sometimes us the three of us again.
Five became six.
Six became eight.
And as our little group grew, she still did the same thing.
She showed up.
She brought her Bible.
She shared the Word.
She listened.
She cared.
She stayed.
But behind all those nights, I know there were prayers we never heard.
There were tears we never saw.
There were moments when she cried out to the Lord for us.
Because sometimes, a spiritual leader doesn’t just stand in front of you and teach you the Word—they stand in the gap for you when you don’t even know how to pray for yourself.
And that is why Philemon became so personal to me.
Because I once ran away too.
I have made mistakes.
I have disappointed people who trusted me.
There were seasons when I robbed myself of the life God wanted for me.
But God sent people who refused to define me by my past.
They believed that I could still change.
That I could still grow.
That I could still be used.
Isa ko sa mga tawo nga naay muunong na leader, wala niundang sa pagtoo nga pwede pa ko mabago. Pwede pa ko magamit sa Ginoo.
Just like Paul stood beside Onesimus, someone stood beside me.
Someone kept showing up.
Someone kept bringing the Word.
Someone kept praying.
Someone kept believing.
And maybe that is one of the greatest gifts God can give us—a person who sees the “useful” in us when we can only see the “useless.”
So today, if you have a spiritual leader who has stayed with you through your worst seasons, appreciate them.
Honor them.
Thank God for them.
And if you are the one who feels like Onesimus today—if you feel like you have failed too many times, wandered too far, or become too broken to be used—
please remember this:
You are not too far gone.
Your past does not disqualify you from God’s purpose.
The same God who transformed Onesimus can transform you.
You may have once run away.
But you can come back.
You may have once been lost.
But you can be restored.
You may have once thought you were useless.
But in the hands of God, you can become useful.
And someday, the very life you thought was wasted might become the testimony God uses to lead someone else home.
God is not finished with you yet.
To every spiritual leader who keeps showing up—thank you for carrying your Bible, but more than that, thank you for carrying us in your prayers.
