You CAN, but will you?

Often people tell me, “There’s just no way I could do (fill in name of ministry, goal, experience).”  Most of the time what that really means is that they are just not motivated to put in the effort or do not feel it is important enough to go through the tough stuff required.  For example, someone recently invited me to participate in a 10K run. “Thanks” I replied, “but I could never run that distance.”  Yes, I could with some consistent effort and training. The truth is, I’m not interested in doing the training.

When God calls, He equips. If He extends an invitation to you to live a holy life, to perform some act of ministry for His church, to serve someone in need, to carry a burden on behalf of another, you can do it. The real question is not ability; it’s willingness.

I regularly am tempted by thoughts of inability and/or incompetence. I wonder if my sermons are just more babbling, adding to the excess of words in the world.  The rapid changes in the world around me cause me to question my ability to relate to, even to understand, the culture into which I bring the Gospel.  IF I allow myself to compare myself to others who enjoy a different kind of 'success,' I too readily blame myself for not having the necessary skills to see the results they enjoy.    I know this:  those thoughts do not come from God!  They are an upside down expression of pride, a focus on me instead of Him!  They are way for me to avoid fulfilling my calling! 

 

When God met Moses in the desert, at the flaming bush, He called him to become Israel’s deliverer from Egypt.  In spite of the wonder of the situation of his call, Moses was reluctant. Repeatedly Moses offered excuses.  “Who am I, that the people would listen to me?” he asked.  He told God, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’ ”  (Exodus 4:1, The Message)  Then, he whined, “O Lord, I’m just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I’m not now, even after you have spoken to me. I’m clumsy with words.” (Exodus 4:10, NLT)   At each excuse, the Lord met Moses with assurance that the real issue was not Moses’ competence, but His.  And we know the rest of the story.  This man, who tried so hard to dodge his calling, became the law-giver, the father of the nation, God’s man!

The lesson for us is clear and compelling.  God is still building His Church (not a building this time but a body of people) and the Spirit is actively working to equip each one to fulfill their calling!  "God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, The Message)    What can you do in the work of God?   What kind of spiritual gift has been invested in you?   Serving, speaking, praying, giving, teaching, leading worship, encouraging, building, making art, telling the Gospel ... the list is long and God has promised us that His Spirit will put skills, ability, and knowledge in us that makes us effective.

This is no excuse for failure to prepare through study, with mentors, and by starting with small efforts.  The Lord demands diligence of us, but simultaneously requires total dependence on Him!  We tend to fall into one extreme or the other:  either thinking it's all up to me (and making ourselves more susceptible to feelings of failure) or just sitting back and waiting for God to make puppets of us.   Somebody said, "We must work like it all depends on us and pray like it all depends on Him!"   There's a lot of wisdom in that.  The Word says,  "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.   ... So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:3, 10-11, NLT)

Feeling incompetent? Excusing yourself from disciplines of the Spirit? Resisting God’s call?  Focus away from yourself to the One who calls.  He is able “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:20)