22 Jun Jesus was never in a hurry.
Jesus was never in a hurry.
In the first chapter of Mark, Jesus said, “Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Perfect purpose wasn’t rushed. It was steady. All the way to the cross. He knew why He came and it wasn’t to stay put. Jesus was fully equipped and moved in the Father’s timing.
Why are we so hurried? We always want to stay a few steps ahead, sometimes willing to try to push God out of the way if He slows us down. Or sometimes we have the opposite problem. We drag our feet and placate the gentle nudge that God gives in everyday life? Maybe it’s not switching jobs or international trips to feed children, maybe it’s the opportunity to volunteer in your child’s classroom, commit to a local church, or to react in kindness instead of rage. Maybe the time is now.
Instead of spending our energy trying to speed up or slow down situations and decisions in our life, what if we focused on how God might be equipping us to do what He puts in front of us.
God doesn’t necessarily call the equipped but he always, without a doubt, equips the called. Translation (in less churchy terms): God isn’t cherry-picking the people who have their stuff together to do his work. He decides to use us (in all of our sloppy, messed-up splendor) and gives us all of the abilities and resources we need to do what He has planned.
I told God that I’m not a Bible scholar. I didn’t go to seminary. I’m a small business owner. An entrepreneur. God made me a pastor. I didn’t like to read as a child. My wife says I like to make up my own words. I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. God made me an author. See a theme here?
God uses me in the areas I feel most inadequate and useful – lots. I trust His ways more than my own. Writing and publishing Go Outside is the perfect example. You can hear more about the crazy (and fun) process of becoming an author on my podcast with my literary agent, Esther Fedorkevich. Check it out here.
I had unanswered questions the entire time I was writing Go Outside. Will I ever get this finished in a solid format? How long will it take? How do I make sure it’s done right? Who can I find that believes in the vision and shares my values and passion for meeting Jesus outside the camp?
Here I am, looking down at a real book (with a cover and pages and words) that I wrote with the help of the Fedd Agency. That, my friends, is proof that God gets a kick out of using normal (or what he refers to as unschooled, ordinary men in Acts 4:13-14) to do take part in spreading His message of hope and adventure in Christ to the world.
Let us then go to him outside the camp… (Hebrews 13:11-14).
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