When I think about one word that really captures my walk with God, the word that God often comes to mind is EQUIPPED. “God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips the called.“ I have heard this common phrase so often in my life it almost makes me cringe. It is very cliché, and yet, so true. But sometimes it helps to hear a real testimony of how God has equipped someone to do something truly beyond their own abilities. So here is my story.
Scripture tells us that before I was born, God had a special mission for me, so He created me just for that purpose. Well God made me a type-A, introverted personality, a person with a passion for math and order, someone well-suited for an accounting type of job. He gave me great skills in organization and list-making and focused little on honing my creative skills, things like sewing, cooking, art, and so forth. My upbringing as the youngest of four girls gave me quite a bit of experience in being the baby but not much experience in caring for a baby. In fact, truthfully I never even held a baby until my first nephew was born during my senior year of high school. In my later years, I got a degree in mathematics and became a high school math teacher. Before that, my only job experience was at a video store and then later repairing printers. So you can imagine, God had perfectly designed me and EQUIPPED me for a mission of maybe writing a math textbook or organizing a math convention, right?
Of course, that’s not even close to the mission God had called me to. First, he wanted me to marry a very spontaneous, unorganized, unplanned type of man who loves to throw my world into disorder with things like last-minute travel plans or by just showing up at the house with a new pet with no warning. [And what a dear husband he is to me!] Next, God wanted me to adopt not one, but three children. And did he have me do that in a well-organized, planned way, where I got to put to good use all those mathematical, logical, organizing skills? Of course not! With the first, I had about 2 weeks’ notice before bringing a 21-month old boy into our home. Then, with the second child, we had about 24 hours’ notice before we brought home a 4-day-old boy from the hospital. And with the third, I had only about 3 hours warning before Casey showed up at our door with another 7-month-old girl.
But God didn’t stop there. He wanted to add a little extra piece to my mission. At this point, you may be thinking that surely he is going to have a wonderful use for all those math skills! But you would be wrong. Instead, my youngest two children have a rare genetic condition which means that they are both developmentally delayed in all areas. My daughter is about 3-4 grades behind in school, and my youngest son is 13 but functionally at a developmental age of about 3-4 years old. He most likely will never be able to live independently. And in addition to all that, God’s additional mission for me was to homeschool my children.
Now, I’m not writing all of this to tell you how difficult my life is or why I need an extra helping of grace. The point is that by all human standards, I was completely ill-suited for the mission God had called me to. I had no experience with little ones, no training or even real desire to work with special needs kids, and certainly NOT the personality suited for a life of adventure, spontaneity, and challenges. But God!
But God empowered me and equipped me to fulfill His purpose and mission for my life. He’s given me adaptability, perseverance, resilience, understanding, creativity, and so many other things to help me along the way. He’s brought people in my life at just the right time to support me and provided material blessings when those were needed too.
Oftentimes, following God’s call is scary and uncertain. We doubt ourselves and our abilities. We wonder if we can do what He is asking or if we have the right knowledge or skills. But we must always remember that God desires to show His glory through us so He will also equip us for the missions He chooses for us. God wants to use our weaknesses to display His strength.
If you wonder if you are able to do what He’s calling you to do, chances are YOU are not…but He is. Don’t look to yourself to decide if you can tackle the mission in front of you; look only to God. Ask yourself one question–is this the path God wants me on? If the answer is “Yes”, step forward in faith and leave the rest to Him. He WILL equip you!
Growing By Surprise 