Can you do it?

"Am I up to the task?" is a question that sometimes stops me in my tracks! After a long meeting with our church's Leadership Team last night (a good meeting, by the way) I drove home asking the Lord if He was sure he had the right guy in the pastor's chair. "Lord, there's has to be somebody who has better skills than I do who could lead this church," I prayed. My prayer was sincere one, and it wasn't about self-pity or discouraging problems. It wasn't a question about my motivation, or about my desire, or even about my critics. When I consider the challenges of an authentic ministry that leads others to life change, when I think that the stakes include eternal destinies, I struggle with my own sense of adequacy and competence.

I understand Moses' reluctance to take up the call of God when the Lord met him at the burning bush and said, "Go now, I am sending you to bring my people out of Egypt."
Moses did not say, "Great! When do I start?" He saw the apparent impossibility of the job, looked at his resume which included murder and flight to avoid prosecution, and asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11, NIV) The dialogue in Exodus 3 and 4 between the Lord and Moses is fascinating. Repeatedly Moses points out his inability and God answers, not by reminding Moses of how smart, how charismatic, or educated he is; but rather by simply saying, "I'll be with you!"

Disciple, whether you're a preacher, plumber, or postman; God calls you first to be His representative in this world. He sends us all to extend His rule into a world in rebellion, to lead those who are captive of Satan's deception, out of the darkness into the Light! Who is adequate for that call in themselves? Which one of us is smart enough, pure enough, to be able to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ."? (1 Corinthians 11:1) Not one, no one. If we focus on our own failures, our own struggles with sin; if we look to our resume as the qualification for taking up the call of God, we will surely refuse His commission. Like Moses, like Paul - we listen to the call and then focus on the One who promises to be with us.

Paul encourages you and me to pursue the calling of God with these words. Take a look: "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.. . . who is equal to such a task?. . . Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Corinthians 2:14-16; 3:4-6, NIV)

Can you do it? Can I? Not by ourselves, for certain. Meditate on these words from the Word. Humbly thank God, the Holy Spirit, for empowering you for the task, then just do it. Let Him amaze you with how much He can make of so little!

"You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights." (Psalm 18:28-33, NLT)

Hallelujah!
__________________________

Jesus will walk with me,
Guarding me ever,
Giving me vict'ry,
Thro' storm and thro' strife,
He is my Comforter, Counselor, Leader,
Over the uneven journey of life.

Jesus will walk with me,
He will talk with me;
He will walk with me,
In joy or in sorrow,
Today and tomorrow,
I know He will walk with me.

Jesus Will Walk With Me
Haldor Lillenas © 1922. Renewed 1950, 1955 Lillenas Publishing Company (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
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