Whom God Calls to Serve,He Will Also Enable
When I was a young boy attending Sunday School we were often taught about missionaries serving in far away places such as Africa, China, and India. I wondered what it would be like to be a missionary and, quite honestly, didn’t want God to call me to serve Him in that way. I was afraid that I would have to endure many hardships as a missionary and really didn’t want to do that.
Scripture is full of stories of men and women chosen by God to serve Him. For the most part these men and women were common, ordinary people. They included fisherman, farmers, shepherds, prostitutes, tax collectors and even a Pharisee. Most of them, like those called to be disciples, immediately dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. A few however argued, cajoled, objected or ran away from God’s call, but like Moses and Jonah, when God made it very clear that He had chosen them, they responded.
All of them, in their own right, were inadequate to carry out the work God had called them to do. In general they all shared the same questionable character traits. They were stubborn, skeptical, rash, prideful, weak, impetuous, reluctant, (sound like anyone you know?) and sinners also, just like you and me. They were slow to understand and sometimes slower yet to obey. But God chose them to be earthly instruments of His will. God knew that He would have to empower them, teach them, care for them, and even give them the words to say in order that they might serve Him and fulfill His purpose.
God continues to use common, ordinary, sinful people to serve Him and He continues to enable them and care for them according to his will. He has a plan for how each of us are to serve Him. We may not all be called to the mission field or the pastoral ministry but we will surely be called and He will enable us through the power of His Holy Spirit to fulfill His purpose. As Christians our role is to remain open to God’s call and to trust Him. God’s love for us is inexhaustible and our very purpose for being is to serve and glorify Him. Whatever God calls you to do, He will also enable you..
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6
This devotional was written by Jim Taylor. Jim is a member of the World Missions Committee.
