Over the past couple of months, my faith in God has been tested like never before. Part of what I have been dealing with is the question, “Will God provide for me? Will God truly be enough?” I know that I am not the only one who feels this way and I am going to assume that this runs through the minds of many of you. We worry daily about our current and future financial status, we worry about the health of ourselves and loved ones, and the list goes on and on and on. Some of these worries make us freeze in our footsteps and does not allow us to live the life we were created to live. As I struggle with this, I am reminded of Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Now, I want you to sit back and think. What is your calling in life? This does not necessarily mean what career you are supposed to have. I’m asking, what has God called for you to do? I think when we think about callings we automatically assume our jobs or vocational ministry but it could be as simple as cleaning the church every week or as extreme as packing up your bags and moving to a 3rd world country. What is the desire and passion God has placed inside of you?
After you begin to formulate that calling, I want you to ask yourselves, what is holding me back from fulfilling my calling? Often times it is a fear of failure, being sick, being uncomfortable, etc. Maybe you are fulfilling things you feel God has called you to but what else can you be doing which you are not? The fear of not knowing what will happen to us if we take this step of faith causes us to fall short of the potential which we have.
I now wish to ask you, is this how you would encourage others to live out their faith in God? Would you truly advise someone, “Be faithful in giving but make sure you hold back some so that you’ll be safe and secure?” Would you teach your kids to love and follow God in this fashion?
Imagine yourself 50 years from now on your deathbed. Could you truly be satisfied with the life you lived if it was all about being safe and secure? Perhaps tomorrow you’ll find yourself in a car accident which will paralyze you for the rest of your life. Would you be able to live with yourself for not having done all that you could for God?
Over the past several months there has been a buzz in the Christian community about the famous pastor from California, Francis Chan. He is an extremely effective preacher and has a very “successful” church. In the midst of his fame and church growth, he has decided to lay it all down because he feels God leading him to do so. He also has struggled with the fact that he oftentimes hears his name more than the words, “Holy Spirit.” What’s in store for him? He does not know but he is choosing to follow God’s call.
I struggle deeply with giving God open-handedly. I am a person who REALLY needs a plan that entails some form of security but God is slowly changing that. As I am learning to be open to the will of God, I am finding myself much more excited about life. There is a great deal of fear in not knowing what tomorrow holds but I realize that if I give myself wholeheartedly to God, there is no limit to what He may do. Perhaps it will be to lead just one person to Christ or maybe a million. Either way I hope that one day I can die and tell everyone that I lived the life God had intended for me to live.
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