Today as I put the final touches and thoughts to my talk for tomorrow called an “Unbelievable Calling”, which is part 2 of a series we are calling the “Unbelievable Christmas”, I can’t help but think about how this story, history, has impacted my story.
Tomorrow, we are specifically looking at Luke 1:26-38, where Gabriel tells Mary she has been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. At first, she was she was confused as to how this could happen, but in verse 38, Mary simply responds saying, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true”. Please keep in mind; the text doesn’t say that Gabriel told Mary everything that would happen. She simply knew what she was told, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, she was going to become pregnant. She held to the truth that “Nothing is impossible with God.” This fact alone was enough for Mary causing her to put total trust in God alone.
Like Mary, many of us have accepted God’s unbelievable call to work with teenagers. We didn’t know why or how God would use us. We simply trusted that He was calling us to something greater than ourselves. We knew deep within our hearts that nothing was/is impossible with God. So we set out to work with students!
Little did we know that this calling would be full of ups and downs, we simply trusted God with the details of our lives. Had we known that . . . we would wonder if we were truly making an impact in the lives of teenagers, we would be criticized for trying things differently, not everyone would see things the way we see them, we would make mistakes, sometimes the people that are closest to us are the ones that hurt us the most, lock-ins are really long (and from the devil), that we aren’t invincible, that some students just won’t like us, leadership takes work, bigger isn’t always better, that students have a mind or their own no matter how many times we teach on a subject, Satan would attack our family, we would feel alone, that we would question our calling, ministry was messy, we would not receive a lot of encouragement, we would have sleepless nights thinking about all the things that need to be done, and the list goes on and on, would we have still trusted God to use us?
If Mary had known all the details, would she have responded the way she did? If God had revealed every detail to us, would we have responded the way we did?
If God had revealed every detail it would eliminate the element of faith. When God calls us, He simply asks us to step out in faith. As we step out in faith, we trust He is using us, somehow, somewhere, and in someone, to make a difference for eternity. If somehow, God would use me, and you, to make a difference in someone’s life for eternity, than this unbelievable calling is well worth it!
You have an Unbelievable Calling! God chooses to use people like us to do unbelievable things, not because we are great, but because He is great. The fact is, He has chosen you in an unbelievable way, so He can do unbelievable things through you. The next time discouragement comes knocking at your hearts door, remember, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
Dan Gould 