Have you ever felt unworthy or just NOT QUALIFIED for the job at hand????? Have you ever felt like the ODDS were against you? The task was impossible? That you were too old to accomplish it? You were not smart enough? You just didn’t have the money? You were not talented enough? Your lack of success so far has ensured you would not reach your dream, or better stated, God’s call on your life? That you weren’t tall enough? Pretty enough? Skinny enough? Fast enough??? YOU are not alone!!! I am hoping, if you are reading this journal post, you are being honest with yourself and at some point have felt like this!! I believe this is how God teaches us, grows us, to not only accomplish His will for our lives, but draws us close to HIM so HE gets the CREDIT and the GLORY.
Don’t know if you are a Bible reader or not, but the Bible is a source of tremendous encouragement. It teaches about God and His provision and what I like to call, God’s Economy! I am sure of this one thing, if God calls you to a task, HE WILL EQUIP YOU TO DO IT!! Nine times out of ten, if God has called you to do something and you are not succeeding, there are some things you need to consider:
1. He is teaching you patience (fruit of the spirit).
2. He is teaching you self-control (fruit of the spirit).
3. He is strengthening your faith in HIM.
4. He is building your character.
5. He is allowing you to gain humility.
6. He is teaching you HIS CHARACTER.
7. His TIME FOR THE ACCOMPLISHED TASK has not yet come.
In God’s economy…if you are a Christian and seek to obey…trusting and DOING HIS will for your life, then many times what He calls you to do…His time frame and His ways… will not make a lot of HUMAN SENSE. Let’s look at a few Scriptures. Paul was told by God in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” And in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts your thoughts” And 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousands years is like a day.” Note right here: When you are called by God and living according to HIS call on your life, IT is HIS STRENGTH, HIS THOUGHTS, not MAN’s, and HIS TIMING!
I love, love, love the story of Gideon in the Bible. There are many other stories of God’s call, character and timing in His word–Jesus Joseph, Noah, Esther, Moses. I want to tell the story of Gideon found in Scripture in the book of Judges. God had called Gideon to take his army of 32,000 and fight the Midianite army of 135,000. The thing that made NO HUMAN SENSE was that he asked Gideon to tell the men in his small army that, if they were afraid, they could go “AWOL” without any consequences. Guess what? 22,000 fled. Gideon was left with 10,000……. Don’t know for sure if God was smiling or not (reminding you that God is God-—all-powerful, all-knowing, THE KING OF KINGS). He then instructed Gideon to send the remaining soldiers to drink from the stream and based on how they drank from the stream would determined whether or not they could stay. God’s plan was to wean more from the army.
So don’t miss this so important point right here: GIDEON LISTENED AND OBEYED GOD WHEN IT DID NOT MAKE SENSE!!!! He ordered his men to drink. 9,700 hundred men got on their knees to drink and 300 crouched to drink. You guessed it. God told Gideon to only take the 300 “crouchers” into battle. In just a very short amount of time the army of 32,000 was cut to 300 men to fight an army of 135,000. NOW please just stop right here and ask yourself this question…………Am I doubting God right now because the odds are stacked against me??????? Do I truly believe that God is who HE says he is? Do I believe God is in control? Am I fully surrendered to HIM and WHAT he has called me to do, NO matter what the OVERWHELMING ODDS are?
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP……. This is how God almighty usually works!!!!! THIS IS HOW WE SEE HIM. THIS IS HOW WE KNOW HIM AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, DON’T GET THE CREDIT WHEN HE works in and through us!!! At 51 and in the “Back 9” of life, I can testify from experience that this is the CHARACTER OF GOD!!!
I want to encourage you today……clothe yourself in Christ. Suit up with His full armour as described in Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV), “…Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
God has a plan for your life. HE DESIRES FOR YOUR LIFE TO BE SIGNIFICANT. FOR VICTORY, AS WITH GIDEON, THE ONE KEY THING WE HAVE TO REMEMBER IS TO OBEY EVEN WHEN IT DOESN’T MAKE WORLDLY SENSE. IT MAKES SENSE TO GOD AND THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!