Above all else

"God calling you means He has chosen you above anyone else." 

What  a wonder! What a purpose! What a gift!

Whatever we are doing or going through God has chosen you and me to go through this to fulfill His incredible plan!

How am I fulfilling His plan?

What does it look like in my life to use the gifts and talents this Great and Holy God has given me?

Are we scared, because we think we know what's going to happen?

Rubbing our palms together with a smirky grin, thinking we are some great person with some sort of power?

Do we recognize our situation and gifts, but fail put them to use?

Or, are we giving it everything we've got doing radical things for God's glory?

Every so often I get so many thoughts bottled up inside me from conversations, sermons, books, podcast, conferences, etc. and I'll either journal it down, talk about it, or sometimes I get a feeling that "I have a blogpost coming on", and blog about it.  Except when "I have a blogpost coming on" it takes me a while to sort through the jumbled mess in my head to figure out how in the world I'm going to write it down and have it make a stich of sense. 

I write these down for myself so I can look back on them and be reminded of God's faithfulness in my life. To remember to remember. And through these I hope as well it can be an encouragement in some small way to others. 

And so one of these recent thoughts that has been ruminating around in me is this quote that I started with, being called by God for a specific purpose and using our talents to further His kingdom. 

Sure, a lot of us are talented in a lot of the same ways or we share the same job and are good at the same things. But there are certain things that God has called only you can do. That only I can do. This is the purpose for which we were created! Out of all the billions of people that have lived on this wide earth He chooses me?

And that makes me feel about an inch tall. That the most Holy God who has the power to do anything Himself wants me to help accomplish His work. 

It also makes me really excited! To think of how God will use me in furthering His kingdom.  Until...He actually does. 

Matthew 25:14-30 (parable of the talents) became very real to me over the past few months. 

I felt as the servant who went and buried his talent in the ground because he knew his master was a demanding guy and he was afraid that he might lose it or not gain anymore talents. 

I was laying in bed one night thinking about this and I had this picture pop into my head, a vision of sorts you might call it. I was holding a closed box. And inside this box was a beautiful diamond, like a precious pearl, that never was there anything like it. And I dared not open it for fear it was fall out and break, or that the outside air might penetrate it. I wouldn't even open it up to show others. But it was fine if I left it in the box and carry it around, just not open. 

I knew something wasn't right. Here I have this precious gift and I wasn't showing or giving it to anyone. But yet still had this desire to show the whole world this rare find.

It occurred to me that this is my life. I have this desire to share my gifts and talents that God has given specifically to me and He has a special purpose for me. But I found my self shaking in my pants for what might happen if I open up and allow Him to fully use me. I wrestled with God for months about this. Because I knew. I knew that if I surrendered and prayed that prayer, "God use me in what ever way and in what ever situation You want to fulfill Your plan", He would! I mean if we're not praying, God more than likely isn't going to use us. But if we are, God usually moves in the direction of our prayers. So it scared me to pieces of what would happen, but I knew I couldn't keep quiet, or keep wrestling with God.   

So after a time, I can remember the exact spot, when I told God, "ok use me, Father, in ways beyond me, show me how to use these Holy gifts that you have given me"

Never since the day I became a Christian had I felt so free! And I tell you, from that day forward amazing moments started happening! God is So Good. Wow.

But really though, isn't this how it is? God gives each of us gifts and talents, such beautiful extraordinary gifts so different from everyone else's. Each with a divine purpose and sacred duty from the most Holy God. What a shame it would be to waste them. But what a picture perfect scene it would be if all of us used our personal spiritual, holy gifts, worked together building His Kingdom. 

Then this was in my devotion this morning. 

"If members of the spiritual body of Christ do not use their gifts for the common good of the church, everyone suffers. Ironically, those who refuse to use their gifts suffer the greatest loss because the use of our gifts brings fulfillment, spiritual maturity, and unexpected blessings." --Michael Youssef 

Part of this personal journey has led me to this point in my life. I don't know where it will go from here or what God want's me do with this part of His story. But I am leaving to go on a mission trip to Uganda in just 10 days. Which seems serial to me,  because I never would have thought I would ever go to Africa. Sure it's always been a dream, but for real?! When we allow God to use us He opens doors in ways we never thought possible. 

Never think that your story is nothing special, or not as powerful as the next persons. Believe me, its hard to get out of that trap. We each have such divers, wonderous stories and its a picture of God's beauty when share them. Because it reminds us of  this Living Almighty God and how we even get anywhere in life. 

Write it down. Tell it. Share it. All about His Goodness! Because He has chosen you above all us.