Reason #117

I love listening to the radio. Truthfully, I’m a little behind times when it comes to technology so each morning, as I get ready for work, I listen to the radio on my ipod dock. I really can’t tell you the last time I have listened to my ipod. In fact, I don’t even know what happened to itunes on my computer. But I’m so thankful for the radio. Thankful for a wide array of songs and for DJ’s who are encouraging. This morning, I heard a song and wish I could remember the words of the song as well as the artist who sang it. The song talked about many of the people we read about in the bible who wondered why God was calling them to take on such a task. People who saw themselves as simple, ordinary, nothing special. People who felt unprepared. People who had no idea how it was going to be accomplished. But God kept reminding them that He was going to do it. Don’t worry about the details, don’t worry about the logistics, just trust Him, be obedient and let Him accomplish it through them.

I am analytical. I like to-do lists. I like results. I like for things to be orderly, and I like to have a good idea of the outcome of my efforts. I like plans. Well organized, well thought out plans. And so God has been laying things on my heart and I some times wonder why He has chosen to give me such a task. I am, most definitely, not the most qualified person He could use. I am a simple, ordinary, everyday average girl. I don’t have great experience or knowledge, and I can easily think of many others who would do a better job than I would. I spend most of my time worrying that I’ll somehow mess up the assigned task and let Him down. And before I even start moving in the direction He is calling me, I get discouraged. Worried. Nervous. Wishing I would have just kept my mouth shut.

But I realize that God doesn’t always organize His thoughts in a to-do list like I do. Unlike me, He doesn’t have to because He remembers the steps. Knows what He’s doing. Knows the exact outcome. And I think about Moses. Qualified? Hardly. Nervous? Definitely. In Exodus 4, God calls Moses to a big task. Rescue the Israelites from the Egyptians. Never mind that Moses had, himself, fled from Egypt to save his own life years earlier. Now, he had to go back and try to convince Pharaoh to “let his people go” (ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya). And, to add to that, Moses didn’t speak well. So, after much debate with God, Moses was finally allowed a partner in crime, Aaron. And I’m sure they both wondered how in the world this was going to happen. Maybe they tried to come up with some strategies of their own just in case they needed a back up plan. Maybe, along the way, Moses wished that he would have never walked over to see that burning bush. But God had a plan, and it was very clear that Moses was to be a part of it. And even though the details and logistics weren’t quite clear to Moses and Aaron up front, God already knew what was going to happen. Really, God didn’t need their help to accomplish this task. Rather, He invited them to help. To be a part of something big. A part of history. Something they couldn’t do without Him. Something amazing they were getting to do with Him! Ordinary guys getting to do extraordinary things.

And here I am, pencil in hand, trying to figure it out. Trying to come up with an organized to-do list. Make sense of it all. And I can’t. I have no idea what the outcome will be. I have stuffed myself with Andes Mints trying to ease my worries and nerves as I feel like Moses. I’m certain of what God has asked me to do but uncertain of how He is going to work it out. And, just like Moses and Aaron, God doesn’t need my help in order to accomplish this task. He has, however, allowed me an incredible opportunity to be a part of something bigger. Something I most definitely cannot accomplish by myself. And, really, I’m so thankful that I don’t have to figure it out. I’m thankful that He is allowing me to do something with Him and for Him. Something He is going to take care of. Something He prepared and planned out long before He even laid it on my heart.

So maybe I’m not the most qualified, and I sure don’t know what will come from this, but I trust that if I’m obedient to go, to do what He asks, He’ll accomplish it through me.

#117 – Because He’s going to work everything out.

“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.” – Romans 8:28