Recently I’ve been contemplating a lot on life and ministry and how we come to recognise where to go/ what to do within the towns or communities that we’re a part of.
One of the biggest issues I have seen people battle is the call to stay or go-whether to stay in their worldly lives or to step out in faith. Now I’m not saying here that this is a one size fits all debate because nothing in life is that simple.. however if you’ve been pondering this then please read on.
As a Christian we’re constantly reminded that God cannot be put into a box- we can’t just take aspects of him and use them to fit our lives as we see fit. Neither can we just let Him out for the Sunday services and then ‘put Him away’ for the rest of the week. God can not be contained into our boxes or our ‘normal’ 9-5 lives, He is infinitely more than we could ever imagine and I don’t know about you but I struggle putting my make up into a bag most days; I don’t wanna attempt to put our creator into a box?!
Now if we read the Bible (and I’m sure you do) we know and believe that God created mankind in His own image (Genesis 1) so if we wholeheartedly believe that our God created us to be like Him why do we insist on putting ourselves in boxes? We place insane limitations on our abilities without first considering that we are formed in His likeness- which means that we are able to do so much more than we realise.
So many truly talented and gifted people restrict their walks and ministries by saying ‘I’m not capable, I’m not called to go, I can’t do more because..’ when actually so many of them really are capable of so much more than they know, and will bless so many more people than they realise if only they believe in their abilities.
If Jesus can raise the dead and cause the blind to see, you can make a difference. You can do immeasurably more because not only is God with you but you are not created to be box shaped, you are not designed to be complacent and just observe the need around you.
I challenge you the next time you question whether you’re called to go- instead consider whether you’re called to stay; whether the life you have now is challenging and fulfilling everything that you desire to do for him. If it isn’t then I’d hazard a guess that God has something in store for you, something that otherwise you wouldn’t think that you’re capable of. If God doesn’t you want you to go out then the doors won’t open; He knows His plan for each of our lives- and that’s pretty awesome! The call to go doesn’t literally always mean to pack up and move away to reach new people- it’s the call to step out in faith into new territory and out of our own comfort zones and that can look different for every single person.
I pray that regardless of where you’re at on your walk; you recognise that God loves you and He will use you if you only step out and let him show you what he has in store. I pray that God shows his wonderful plans to you and that you are bold enough to step into them. I pray that you find somebody to speak into your life and be a source of encouragement when things get tough- and that you get to be that to somebody else.
But mostly I pray that we all can stop trying to put ourselves in the little boxes that this world creates, we are called to so much more.
Kirsty x
inthistogether2016 