Reason #858
If only the weeks passed as quickly as the weekends do, and if only the weekdays passed as quickly as the weeknights do. But when you need time, you don't have it. And when you have all the time in the world, you've got nothing to do with it. I know time is consistent, always staying the same, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Oh, what I wouldn't give right now to be a teacher. If only I could wake up tomorrow morning and it be the start of my two and a half month summer break, I'd be one happy camper.
I taught Sunday school by myself this morning, and I am always amazed at how God can give me something to consistently say for about 40-50 minutes and stay on track. I've been teaching bible study for about 2 years now, which I can hardly believe, and I am still blown away by the fact that He would entrust me with such a task. The truth is, I don't always feel the most qualified, but I am glad that God goes by His own rules. I am thankful that God doesn't follow human standards or ideas and that He does what He sees fit. I would have never imagined myself in this role, but now I can't imagine anything different.
We talked about Ezekiel this morning, and so I'll probably be blogging about our lesson for the next few days. The whole reason God called Ezekiel was because Israel was in trouble...again. Surprise, surprise. This seems to be a recurring theme here, and we're pretty far into the new testament. This time they were in exile in Babylon. I haven't gotten this far in my bible reading, so I don't know a whole lot about Ezekiel. The only thing I do know is that he was from a line of priests, thus making him a priest. From that, I can gather that he knew God's word and practiced it. He was obviously raised to revere the Lord and obey Him, and so I know Ezekiel wasn't the reason Israel was now being held captive by Babylon. He probably didn't even contribute to their rebellious and sinful ways, but he was having to suffer right alongside them. And, as our pastor reminded us this morning during the service, our sin is never our own. It affects the whole body.
But God showed up and made His presence known to Ezekiel during this exile. God called him out and commissioned him to go and speak to the Israelites. God was using one of their own to get through to them. He didn't call in the special forces from somewhere else to take His message. He didn't send this overly qualified and highly favored individual to change their behavior. He chose an insider. He chose someone that, from what I can tell, wasn't considered a "big deal" in his community. Probably a guy who lived a quiet, obedient, faithful life, and God chose Him. I don't think Ezekiel was the Paul or the Billy Graham of the Israelite community, and yet God was placing a big call on His life to change the hearts of the people of Israel and help lead them back to the God who had made them His own.
God uses us in ways we can't even imagine. He has a calling on our life that is probably much bigger than what we have come up with for ourselves. But sometimes we back down because we are scared. We aren't certain that we can do it, or we don't really believe it will happen like He says it will. But when God has commissioned you, you will not fail. God doesn't call us out so that we'll fall flat on our faces. He doesn't send us into botched missions. God has a purpose, and He knows full well the reason He is asking us to go. He has a plan, and He needs you for that plan. He specifically called out Ezekiel for this task because Ezekiel was the perfect person for it. He was exactly who God needed. And so are you. You are the person God needs for the task He is laying in front of you. You might not believe that, but if it wasn't the truth, then He wouldn't ask you to do it. God designed you for the calling He has placed on your life, and no one could do it better than you. You're the one He needs, the one He wants to use, and you're the only one who can decide whether or not you'll do it.
So be brave. Be like Ezekiel. Don't question God, obey God. Trust that He knows what He is doing. Remember that He isn't setting you up to fail, and know that God doesn't view things from our perspective. He sees it from the bigger picture. And so your task isn't small. Your task is important. Your task is meant for you. Be who God has called you to be, do what God has asked you to do, and you will find that when you trust and obey God, you'll accomplish more than you ever could have done... or not done... on your own.
#858 - Because He goes by His own rules and uses the "ordinary" ones all the time.
"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." - 1 Peter 2:9
I taught Sunday school by myself this morning, and I am always amazed at how God can give me something to consistently say for about 40-50 minutes and stay on track. I've been teaching bible study for about 2 years now, which I can hardly believe, and I am still blown away by the fact that He would entrust me with such a task. The truth is, I don't always feel the most qualified, but I am glad that God goes by His own rules. I am thankful that God doesn't follow human standards or ideas and that He does what He sees fit. I would have never imagined myself in this role, but now I can't imagine anything different.
We talked about Ezekiel this morning, and so I'll probably be blogging about our lesson for the next few days. The whole reason God called Ezekiel was because Israel was in trouble...again. Surprise, surprise. This seems to be a recurring theme here, and we're pretty far into the new testament. This time they were in exile in Babylon. I haven't gotten this far in my bible reading, so I don't know a whole lot about Ezekiel. The only thing I do know is that he was from a line of priests, thus making him a priest. From that, I can gather that he knew God's word and practiced it. He was obviously raised to revere the Lord and obey Him, and so I know Ezekiel wasn't the reason Israel was now being held captive by Babylon. He probably didn't even contribute to their rebellious and sinful ways, but he was having to suffer right alongside them. And, as our pastor reminded us this morning during the service, our sin is never our own. It affects the whole body.
But God showed up and made His presence known to Ezekiel during this exile. God called him out and commissioned him to go and speak to the Israelites. God was using one of their own to get through to them. He didn't call in the special forces from somewhere else to take His message. He didn't send this overly qualified and highly favored individual to change their behavior. He chose an insider. He chose someone that, from what I can tell, wasn't considered a "big deal" in his community. Probably a guy who lived a quiet, obedient, faithful life, and God chose Him. I don't think Ezekiel was the Paul or the Billy Graham of the Israelite community, and yet God was placing a big call on His life to change the hearts of the people of Israel and help lead them back to the God who had made them His own.
God uses us in ways we can't even imagine. He has a calling on our life that is probably much bigger than what we have come up with for ourselves. But sometimes we back down because we are scared. We aren't certain that we can do it, or we don't really believe it will happen like He says it will. But when God has commissioned you, you will not fail. God doesn't call us out so that we'll fall flat on our faces. He doesn't send us into botched missions. God has a purpose, and He knows full well the reason He is asking us to go. He has a plan, and He needs you for that plan. He specifically called out Ezekiel for this task because Ezekiel was the perfect person for it. He was exactly who God needed. And so are you. You are the person God needs for the task He is laying in front of you. You might not believe that, but if it wasn't the truth, then He wouldn't ask you to do it. God designed you for the calling He has placed on your life, and no one could do it better than you. You're the one He needs, the one He wants to use, and you're the only one who can decide whether or not you'll do it.
So be brave. Be like Ezekiel. Don't question God, obey God. Trust that He knows what He is doing. Remember that He isn't setting you up to fail, and know that God doesn't view things from our perspective. He sees it from the bigger picture. And so your task isn't small. Your task is important. Your task is meant for you. Be who God has called you to be, do what God has asked you to do, and you will find that when you trust and obey God, you'll accomplish more than you ever could have done... or not done... on your own.
#858 - Because He goes by His own rules and uses the "ordinary" ones all the time.
"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." - 1 Peter 2:9