Yes Lord! No... wait... what?

I've heard it said:

God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called.

Do you believe that?

Over and over again scripture tells us about people who were flawed, broken, uneducated, and/or unwilling who were asked to take part in the remarkable works God had planned.

He took the dregs of society - murderers, adulterers, theives, liars and prostitutes - and said, "Not by [your] might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." (Zechariah 4:6)

We've seen evidence of it over and over in scripture. So why do we doubt it when God calls us? Why do we run?

Is it because we don't want to do the work God has for us? Maybe at first. But I know in my own life that the things I feel called to become things I want almost as much as breathing. It may take a while, but my doubts ALWAYS outlive my lack of desire.

I want to go to graduate school and become a counselor. I want to be teaching my Sunday School class. I want to be Sunday School director for my church. My desire isn't the problem.

So what is?

The Bible tells us that we can do all things with God's strength and yet we still don't believe it. I still don't believe it.

As irrational and nonsensical as it is, I think I run from God's calling because I am afraid that my screw-ups would be too big for God to fix. I'm afraid that I would mess up so badly that my witness and God's plan would be damaged beyond repair. I don't want to make a mockery of my God.

But when you give yourself over, and allow God to work through you, miracles happen. God changes landscapes and lives for eternity. And God uses us. Amazing, isn't it?