I\u2019ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be called by God. I\u2019m learning in a very real way that God\u2019s calling isn\u2019t always glamorous or easy. But to be commissioned by God, the Creator of the heavens and earth is so much bigger than ourselves, so of course, much will be required of us. In this blog post, I hope to share more on this and my prayer is that you will walk away feeling empowered and inspired to go after your God-given calling.<\/p>\n
When God Calls Us, There Must Be Willingness<\/strong><\/p>\n I believe a \u201cyes\u201d is the first response God is looking for when He calls us. Are we willing? Are we available? Many of us delay our yes, not because we don\u2019t want to do what God has called us to do, but rather because we feel inadequate<\/em> to do what the Lord has called us to do. But here\u2019s the truth\u2026if you\u2019re feeling inadequate or not enough, you probably are. However, we don\u2019t have to be adequate or enough to pursue God\u2019s calling on our lives.<\/em> Look at scripture. We see countless stories of God using people who don\u2019t have it all together, people who didn\u2019t have all their i\u2019s dotted and t\u2019s crossed; to name a few: Noah, David, Abraham, Peter, and Paul (plus many many more!) If you\u2019re holding back because you feel broken, let me remind you that God would rather you give your broken \u201cyes\u201d than you give nothing at all. To be honest, oftentimes, my life feels like a series of broken yes\u2019s to God:<\/p>\n \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll still worship even when I\u2019m filled with doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll keep praying and reading Your word even when it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll keep giving even when I don\u2019t have much to give.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll keep moving towards the overlooked even when I feel overlooked myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll still do it.\u201d or \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll still go.\u201d<\/p>\n Our inadequacies and \u201cnot enoughness\u201d are precisely what makes us the best candidate for God to use us because, through us, His adequacy and enoughness can be glorified, and isn\u2019t that what it\u2019s all about, friends? God being glorified! Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 12:9, \u201cEach time he said, \u201cMy grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.\u201d So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.\u201d ****Give Him your \u201cyes\u201d, friend, His grace will carry you through.<\/em><\/p>\n When God Calls Us, There Will Be Preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n We love the quote \u201cGod doesn\u2019t call the equipped. He equips the called,\u201d but we don\u2019t like to talk much about the \u201cequipping\u201d **process. We don\u2019t talk about it because the process isn\u2019t usually pretty, and tends to come in a way we\u2019d least expect it, like through a challenging season. The preparation is less like a manual and more like God allowing us to walk through hard seasons so we can come out on the other side refined.<\/em> Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m not saying God is delighting in allowing pain in our lives or that something terrible must happen for God to prepare us. I am just reminding you that no season is ever wasted with the Lord and even our darkest seasons, the Lord can use for our good. My prayer is for us to come to a place where we fully surrender to the Lord and His plans for us, trusting that every closed door, every setback, every betrayal, every hurt, or whatever difficult situation we find ourselves in can be turned around for something beautiful in the end.<\/p>\n\n\t\t