Go in the strength you have. (Judg. 6:14)
NEVER BE SURPRISED when God calls. He will call, but it will often look different than you expect. He surprises your eyes with a vision of whitened acres ripe for harvest, perhaps in an area you’ve never considered, and at a time when you are simply busy threshing out your daily grain. As you huddle within the safety of your winepress, He startles you with dreams of an uncomfortably open field.
Moses. Esther. Samuel. David. Jeremiah. Daniel. Mary. Peter. Gideon. Viewed through the glass of natural readiness, the Bible’s list of men, women, and children called by God for extraordinary tasks reads less like a hall of fame and more like a hall of faith. God’s faith, that is. God relentlessly believes in His own ability to accomplish important work through ordinary, unsuspecting people. He delights in it. He surprises and stretches us beyond our self-image. It is His work, on His timetable, and at His discretion.
You are never ready for His call. At least not in the way readiness is typically understood. In many ways, you are the “weakest in Manasseh,” and the “least in [your] family” (v. 15). God utterly disregards your shortcomings and shrugs off your weaknesses. It is His work, and He calls despite your objections. He only asks of you the strength to say, “Yes, Lord.” He will call. Will you say yes?
Say yes to God today.
Bill Beck, with wife Lisa and daughter Katie, enjoys life in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
