December 19 I Monday

Jonah

Revelation 10

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”    —2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Oftentimes, we think it is the people who have it all together that Jesus calls. Sometimes, our insecurities can creep in and make us believe that God cannot use us. We begin to disqualify ourselves by making excuses with things such as language barrier, mental health and disability. But when Jesus approached the demon-possessed man and the Samaritan woman, He knew their potential to lead city-wide revivals, where whole villages and communities would come and meet Jesus.

       God does not call the equipped; He equips the called. All He needs is our yes and our availability. How God equips us is through the indwelling presence and empowerment of His Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 tells us, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When we place our faith in Jesus, He fills us with His Spirit and His Spirit begins to empower us for Christ-exalting ministry and mission. There is a call on every single one of our lives to live on mission for Jesus and we have to believe together that He will equip each and every one of us for that calling. God can use everyone.

       Some of us may have painful stories and life experiences; yet, we can find reason to rejoice in the fact that God brings purpose out of our pain and life experiences as we live on mission for Him. When God saves us, He does not discard our life experiences. Instead, He saves us, takes our life experiences and redeems them by using them for His kingdom. 

       There was a lady who grew up in Lebanon during the civil war. She experienced hurt, brokenness, division and suffering. When she and her husband immigrated to Canada, it was more painful and lonely than growing up in Lebanon. Currently, she works with refugees in Toronto, Canada. Many of these refugees have been forcibly displaced by armed conflict in their home country. Through her experience of growing up in the civil war, she was able to come alongside to encourage, to support and to empower people who lived through similar experiences. Also, because of the pain and loneliness she felt immigrating to Canada, she was able to walk alongside others experiencing feelings of loneliness. God is in the business of redeeming our pain, redeeming our life experiences and using it for His kingdom. May we not view our life experiences as limiting our ability to be used by God, but view them in a way in which God actually wants to use our pain and life experiences for His kingdom.

Prayer: Father God, although I may never understand why I went through the pain and life experiences that I have, I know You are redeeming them for Your kingdom purpose. Thank You, Lord.