The Process of Equipping

"God does not call the equipped: He equips the called." I have quoted this to more folks than I could possibly begin to recall. I have used the many notable historical figures in the Word to support this statement. Just look at Moses, David, Daniel, Joseph son of Jacob, or even for that matter, Mary and Joseph, Jesus' parents. Throughout the Word, we see over and over again that God chooses those with a heart for Him and then sends them out to accomplish the unbelievable. This belief in how God operates can provide great comfort to those who are wondering, "Why me, Lord?" Clearly a mission was given and then He equipped the "missionary" to do His will. Sometimes though we don't have a clear mission from Him and are not in the midst of being sent out. What does that say about us? Is He not using us?

Recently I began to reassess what this statement means and the Lord has given me some interesting perspectives that I need to share with you. As some of the postings on this blog have intimated, I am not real clear in this season of my life, what He is doing or why He is doing it. I am trying very hard to be faithful to hear His voice and very patient to not start running ahead of Him. However our conversations have been very different than they were several years ago. This season is new territory for me and hence I have had to go to Him for understanding.

I have found that I was making certain assumptions about my life and about what God was up to. I truly believe Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. I kept looking back at my life and assuming that everything I had experienced, everything that I had learned, would be indicative of the direction that God had for my life. I reviewed my "resume" of life and concluded that the formal education I had received, the several jobs I had held, and the mountains and valleys of my personal life would all add up to a predictable outcome that would use all of these various components of who I am. A predictable outcome would include the book I had published, the public speaking and training experiences I had mastered and then of course my spiritual growth that had expanded exponentially in the last 6 years.

I am beginning to believe that I have this understanding of equipping and calling backwards. Listen to Jeremiah 1:7-8 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Jeremiah was a grown man, yet the Lord was calling him a child because that was how he saw himself ~ totally inadequate for what the Lord was going to do with him and through him. Moses was the same way. He did not see himself as the appropriate choice for God to use in His work in the way He was describing to Moses. God equipped both of these great men as they traveled the path He had chosen for them. Neither of them were handed a transformed identity that moment. They had to begin walking in the identity God was creating for them as their obedience was manifested. Obedience was the key. Trust Me, God says, I know what I am doing.

Perhaps then what this means to us is that God has used everything in our lives to get us to this exact moment in time when He can move us forward into the new territory that He has designed for us. Without the intricate history of my life, I would not be in exactly this place in this time. Without the education and the professional experience, I could have never accepted job opportunities that continued to move me to this moment. Without the emotional trauma of my past, I would not have moved to Atlanta to be positioned for Him to move me into the next spiritual dimension of my life. Without everything happening just as it did, I would not have the trust, the healing, the intimacy with Him that I do at this very moment.

So how do I translate this revelation into meaning for my "today" life? I have realized that I am to shift my expectations of what God is up to. First let's all acknowledge that we really don't have a clue anyway! :-) Second I know from personal experience that His plans for my life are incredibly greater than anything I could dream up. What if the visions and dreams that I have had previously were meant to stimulate me into moving forward in preparation for something else, something so big that my brain cannot wrap around it? Now that is the reality of my God. When I dreamt of peace in my life, stability, a good relationship with a spouse chosen by God, I did not fathom that my life would be what it is today. Reality today so far surpasses anything my brain imagined that I am still in awe of His blessings in my life, and that is just today. So what about tomorrow?

I believe that I have been handcuffing God's efforts in my life by looking only at what I have been told by Him previously and imposing my interpretation of those things on the direction of my life. I have counseled many individuals to not "settle" for less than God's best in their lives. His desires for us are infinitely grander than what we wish for ourselves. Please don't misunderstand me; I am not saying that He desires to lavish us with worldly wealth beyond our expectations. I believe that He wants our earthly needs met, and He has demonstrated to me time and again that He is very capable of handling that. More importantly He wants our eternal wealth to be grand and that is triggered by our obedience and surrender. The more we trust, the more He can do with our lives. I am a testimony to that.

Not too long ago I lived in eager anticipation of what He had waiting for me around the corner. I knew always that something awesome was about to happen, I just needed to be open to it and ready to move with it. I have come to realize that due to the unexpected and for me miraculous events of my life, I was subconsciously thinking, "It can't get better than this. I should be content and thrilled that God has blessed me with what He has. Say thank you and settle into being obedient in my daily life." Now I understand that is limiting Him and in essence saying He is finished with this project. What little credit I give to my God who is my Lover and my best friend!

My prayer for you and for myself is that we stop limiting God in our lives. Let Him be the marvelous Creator that He is and have at it with our lives. Join me in stepping into an eager anticipation of something new from Him everyday of your lives. Believe that He is in the process of equipping you and you will not know what you need until you are in the moment and He provides you with the power and the tools that you need to accomplish His will. His heart's desire is for us to have the most indescribable journey with Him from this moment and throughout all of Eternity. Won't you come along?