One day God called Moses to do something extraordinary and seemingly impossible — to stand up to the most powerful man in the world and lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.
In the resulting conversation, Moses gave God several excuses for not agreeing to accept this call, both by asking questions and making statements.
- “Who am I to do this?”
- “Who are you, that I should trust you?”
- “They won’t believe me.”
- “I don’t speak well in front of people.”
- “Send someone else.”
One by one, God answered these excuses until Moses surrendered. When it comes to God’s call on your life, which of these is the excuse you use the most?
Through this encounter, God is teaching us that when he calls us to do something, he’ll be with us. We can depend on Him. He can overcome any problems we face. He will help us grow in the abilities he’s given us. And sometimes he even gives us a partner to walk with us.
So what is God calling you to do?
Maybe you’ve settled into a nice, safe Christian life, asking God to bless and protect you and those around you. You love God, but you’re content in the knowledge that while you’re not doing much to help God’s kingdom, you’re not doing anything to hinder God’s work either. That’s the safe way to live, especially in a world that’s growing colder to the things of Christ.
But God never called us to a life of safety. What if, instead of waiting on a burning bush, and secretly hoping you never see one, you took the initiative and asked God to do something amazing through you? What if every believer started every day with the prayer, “God, please use me however you want”?
I mentioned in my previous post the very first message I preached. It was called, “Living the Adventure,” and it was about living a life of faith in God. Life with God is meant to be so much more than a safe, boring life. It’s meant to be an adventure! Be proactive and ask God to use you any way he sees fit. Ask him to put you in situations where your prayer life has to get serious, where you know you’re following him out of sheer faith, knowing that you might fail.
I’m certainly not an expert at this, but it’s exactly how I felt back in 2006 when I helped to launch Tapestry Church. I remember thinking, “God, if we attract anyone here, it’s only going to be because of you.” I had no idea what the results would be, and I was afraid of failure. But I woke up every Monday morning knowing that there were people all across our county who were still separated from the God who loved them, and that drove me. That’s when I would look to God and say, “God, I’ll fail 1000 times if that’s what you want me to do, but please use me to help someone come to you. Whatever you choose to do, though, I will still trust you.”
Well, Tapestry ended up closing in 2014. To many people, it was a failure. But I look back on it and think of all the people who were with us there, and I can’t help but praise God for putting those people in my life. My love for each of you has not diminished one bit over the last seven years.
If you surrender to God while asking him to use you in any way he sees fit, you won’t always be successful in the world’s eyes. You may not even be safe physically. But you’ll never regret it. If you say to God, “I’m done with being comfortable, please use me however you want,” you’ll be more alive than you’ve ever been.
I don’t want to live a boring, comfortable, safe Christian life. I want my examples to be people like Noah, who built a boat before he had ever seen rain. Or Elijah, who stood on Mt. Carmel and faced down the prophets of Baal, not knowing until the last minute whether God would actually come through. I want to have the faith of David, who knew that if he missed he could die, but he used that slingshot anyway. I want to follow God the way Moses ended up doing, raising his staff and watching as the Red Sea parted.
One day after his resurrection, Jesus had a long talk with Peter, and Peter kept telling Jesus how much he loved him. Then Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me” (John 21:18-19).
I want to be like Peter, who knew how his life would end and followed anyway.
What is God calling you to do? Perhaps he’s calling you to make an impact far beyond your home and family. Are you willing to follow? Maybe God wants your impact to be more local, like serving your church to an extent you’ve never done before. Maybe God wants to use you in your family like never before. Maybe God wants to use you to influence your friends like you’ve never done before.
Maybe you realize that God wants to change your character. He’s calling you to be the spouse, the employee, the parent, or the child that you’ve never been.
Maybe you have no idea what God wants to do through you because you’ve never asked him. Your prayer is, “God, please keep me safe.”
Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone without knowing how the story ends, only knowing that your Father is able, he loves you, and he wants what’s best for you? If you are, change your prayer to, “God, use me however you want.” And let the adventure begin.