“I know, God, that mere mortals can’t run their own lives, That men and women don’t have what it takes to take charge of life.” Jeremiah 10:23 MSG

So, why do we try so hard to be the god of our own lives? Trying to control what we can’t control, trying to strive until striving ceases, trying to compete with others to be the best. Why do we immediately think we can pull ourselves up from the bootstraps to become successful in whatever we do. Or on the total opposite end of the spectrum, if we think we can’t do something, we don’t try at all, another sign of control?!

Because we are Human.

It’s been this way since the fall. It’s been like this since the serpent said…Did God really say that? When Adam and Eve questioned the truth, when they questioned their creator and closest friend, Satan knew He had them in his grip. Honestly, Satan sealed the deal when he said to the humans…. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5

Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of power like God’s and so do we. Power, control…the temptation that makes each one of us fall into sin.

Years ago I laid my life down along with all the power, control, and competition within it. Laying my life down meant trusting God, who He says He is and who He says I am. No longer depending on myself, no longer trying to be in control of my life, letting Him lead me and whatever that looks like. But to let Him lead, there were daily tasks I took on of taking up my cross.

First, you must Seek His Way – Praying each day opens communication with the Lord to let Him know we want to hear from Him and grow with Him. This action lets God know we don’t want our own way, but His Way for our life.

Second, you must Walk in His Way – Reading God’s Word lays out a direct path to His Will. After reading the Word, if we don’t walk in the way we’ve read, it’s as though we have forgotten what we look like as we walk away from a mirror. (James 1:22-25) We know what we look like, just like we know what we just read, and we need to walk in it.

Third, you must Work at Everything as you are Working for the Lord and not the World. Many people love competition, they want to be better than others at whatever they do, and my natural God-given personality would put me in that same division. However, when I laid down my life and opened my hands to Jesus, I put aside all competition. My personality didn’t change, but my internal drive did. There is no race I want to win and I run a ton, there’s no person I want to be better than and I have many in my life; I truly want to be the best version of the person God created me to be so that I may Glorify Him in everything I do. Everyday we should wake up with our hands open and say, What do you have for me to do today, LORD? And then do THAT THING in the Best way for Him Alone.

Today, instead of trying Hard to be in control, powerful, or competitive, why not lay aside your selfish ambitions, your life, and open your hands to let God take control. Why not run with God and for God, instead of against God?

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Jesus (Matthew 11:30)

““Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”” Jeremiah 1:6

Do we ever actually think we are ready to do the hard things? More often than not we make excuses: We’ll start a family when we have enough money, I’ll make that change when God gives me a sign — not a small sign but a BIG sign like on the side of the interstate, I’ll tell them the truth of Jesus when the time is right, and so on and so on. Yet when we feel that initial nudging, when we hear that still small voice speaking to us, that’s all that’s necessary or needed to walk forward into the call.

“But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.” Jeremiah 1:7

God came to Jeremiah and told him, he was to be a prophet to the nations. But Jeremiah made the excuse of him being too young. And God’s response to him is the same to all of us – if I’ve called you, I’ll go with you, and when it gets hard, I will rescue you. He doesn’t leave us high and dry. God doesn’t appoint us for a purpose or call us to step out of our comfort zone without being right there with us, ready to lead us and guide us, ready to fight for us, and what’s even better is He’s ready to prepare us.

“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9

When God calls us, He equips us. Even when we’ve never done that thing before, God equips us.

I remember when I got pregnant with my first child, I was young. My first thought was “how am I going to be a mom”. I’d never had any experience with a baby, no babysitting for me, no nursery duty, no young siblings. I had no idea how to even hold a baby. So, when my son was born, everyone asked to hold him, and I was like “please do” because I was afraid I’d break him. But little by little God began to teach my how to care for my child, how to be a parent. My fears went by the wayside and oddly enough I had enough courage to do it again.

By the nudging of the Holy Spirit, I’ve stepped into the hard places often in my life, Probably more than I would have liked. But there are also times when I was just been too afraid to step in. I’ve never been disappointed by the times I’ve walked into the call God had for me because he was always there and he always prepared me. It’s only the times where I walked away from the call that I feel regret. Who knows what God would have done with those moments.

What’s holding you back? Don’t let fear give you an excuse. For in God there is no fear, so there are No Excuses to do that hard thing that he’s called you to.

“The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem.”2 Chronicles 35:18

God has been desiring his children to turn back to Him since the beginning. If those of us who were called by him had just enough courage and trust in Him we could also turn others to Him.

King Josiah sought God from and early age, but there were centuries of kings before him that wavered. The waywardness of other kings turned the people of Israel on the wrong the path and the majority of God’s people had gone astray. These people were following other small “g” gods, they were making idols of anything they could see or get their hands on, and they were making decisions that were so far from God’s way. Sounds like Modern Day, right?!

Well Josiah couldn’t handle it, his heart was breaking for God and his people, so He sought after God so fiercely that it led him to God’s Word. I’m not talking like he finally started reading the Bible, I mean the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses had been lost and Josiah’s priests found it and read it aloud.

“When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.” 2 Chronicles 34:19

King Josiah was moved to action. He didn’t just let his heart hurt, he allowed it to fuel the passion God had given him. He no longer wanted to just lead the people well, he desired to lead the people to the Lord.

“He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord —to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:30-31

As long as Josiah was alive the people followed after God, and his first act of faithfulness was celebrating the Passover which hadn’t taken place since Samuel’s time.

When we are seeking God fully, we will experience a breaking of our heart for what breaks His. This breaking in turn should drive a passion within us and become a call on our life. This can come at a young age or it can come later in life, it doesn’t matter “when”, all that matters is “what” we do with it.

If we allow our trust in Him to produce the courage we need, we can use this passion to turn others to God through Jesus. It’s never going to be too late for God to use you to turn others to Him. He’s not done yet and neither are you.

He used Josiah after years of unfaithful kingdoms. He can use you in our World today, no matter how BAD it looks. Don’t let the thought creep in that the “world is too far gone”. If God has called you, then He will strengthen, empower, and provide for you a way.

It’s not too late! Seek Him – Say it after me, “Here I am, Send Me.” He’s going to use you to change a life, to turn others to Him.

“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” Isaiah 66:2

Being human, it’s hard to stay humble, but every time we humble ourselves, God looks upon us with favor and saves us from our descension.

“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.” 2 Chronicles 33:10

Manasseh was son of Hezekiah, a king after God’s own heart. Yet, Manasseh didn’t follow in his father’s lead and he destroyed everything his father did for the Lord. He did more evil than you can even imagine, including sacrificing his own children. The Bible states that this aroused the anger of God, and I can honestly say it arouses my anger, as well. So, God brought armies against the king and they captured him taking him as a prisoner to Babylon.

“In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.” 2 Chronicles 33:12

Manasseh humbled himself, and in verse 13, it states he, “came to truly know God”. God was so moved by Manasseh’s humility that he saved him from the hands of the Assyrians, bringing him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem.

Manasseh could’ve easily turned back to his old ways, but in humility and truly knowing God, he repented.

“Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 33:16

Because we are human, like Manasseh, it is so easy to think of ourselves as more important, able to provide by our own means, or trusting in others over God, you know….Pride. And pride will be our downfall because pride is actually brought about by fear. Pride is putting anything above the Lord. When we humble ourselves before God we trust in him and trust in God pushes out fear and replace it with his truth.

We may still become afraid every so often, but instead of taking it in our hands or to others, we take it to God. God will always be there to provide a way through the fear and when he provides a way, instead of pride being our downfall, our Humility will help us Stand Tall.

“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

God can make us and mold us into whatever he sees fit.

If you think of a lump of clay or let’s just say Play-Doh because I know everyones had that at some point or another, when it sits out, not molded, you get a dry rock unable to be used. Yet, if you take that same piece of Play-Doh right out of the jar and begin to mold it, you can make it into whatever you dream up.

God as the potter does the same thing with us. He takes our unformed body in the womb of our mother and begins molding us together. He starts with just the body itself, what it will look like, how it will function, and then he begins to mold our life. The beautiful thing about our clay bodies is that he never lets us dry out until he’s finished with his plan for us.

“All go to the same place; all come from dust to dust all return.” Ecclesiastes 3:20

During the time in between dust to dust God continually molds our life. Sometimes he has to break us and remold us, and other times he just keeps forming us into something more beautiful. And in all of this we have a promise, that no matter how he formed us he can use us.

“But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Romans 9:20-21

We are his craftsmanship, created in His Image, a masterpiece in the hand of the master meant to pour out his glory.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

So why not just trust the hands that are forming us that never make mistakes to be used for His Greater Glory to pour out the light of Christ.

“Listen to me, you Islands; hear this, you distant lands: before I was born the Lord called me; from my mothers womb he has spoken my name.” Isaiah 49:1

God thought of you way before your mom bore you; he called you for a purpose way before you were welcomed onto this earth.

What call are you waiting for? When God brought your parents together – the man and woman who had to be utilized to create you — He literally knew what he wanted to use you for and breathed the breath of life in your lungs for the specific purpose. (*Side note – I believe this is true for even those babies that don’t make their way onto this earth. God has a purpose for their short life as well and we will see them one day in Heaven.) So, if God has already called you, are you living your life in such a way as one who is called? Are you seeking the one who called you? Are you moving forward in his likeness even if you don’t fully know the purpose yet? Are you pointing others to him through the ways he has gifted you?

You can live as one who is called by using the ways (I called these gifts) you were created to live a life that is purpose filled even if you don’t fully know the purpose.

“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.” Isaiah 50:4

This is one Specific Way, God chooses to use me every day. He speaks his truths into my heart every morning, and I could either keep them to myself or share them with you. Living as one who is Already Called, I choose to share his words with you. When I don’t, I don’t fully feel alive because I’m not using the gifts God has already given me.

Maybe you have a keen ability to make a friend wherever you go, use that to share your faith with others. Maybe God has given you an intelligence that surpasses understanding, use that to help others who are struggling in their work. Maybe you can see hurt in the eyes of someone around you, lean in and listen and comfort them with whatever they are going through. Whatever God has gifted you with, use it for His purpose and not your own. You will then be living as one who has Already Called.

I feel like we all want to know what our purpose is, but we don’t have to know the specific purpose God has for us when we utilize the gifts he’s already given us. The purpose will find us through our willingness to point others to him through our Call. If you are created then you are Already Called.

“But out of the sheer goodness of my heart, because of who I am, I keep a tight reign on my anger and hold my temper. I don’t wash my hands of you. Do you see what I’ve done? I’ve refined you, but not without fire. I’ve tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:9-10 MSG

Out of God’s love for his children, he will never destroy them, but he will refine them for a greater purpose.

I get it, we’ve all done wrong, we are all sinners, and we deserve death. Sometimes I beat myself up for being the worst of all sinners, no matter how big or small my sin, because I hate doing anything against God who I truly love so much. Yet, no matter what I do or we do or you do, he doesn’t hate us. God doesn’t let his anger overcome him, he shows us grace and mercy. So, don’t ever believe that your trial is the consummation of the Punishment for your Sin.

The trials we go through are there to refine us for a greater purpose. Yes, some of the trials may be the consequence of the sin we committed because every choice naturally has a consequence. But that consequence isn’t there to destroy us but to remove the tarnish and show the beauty of God in the finished product. Sometimes the trials we go through are no consequence of our own. They could be consequence of another’s decision or just the consequence of the original sin that has tarnished how our life on earth should’ve been. Either way, God wants to use our trials to glorify Him and bring beauty from our ashes.

Picture this: when any metal (silver, gold or anything else) is put into the fire, as the heat rises the impurities separate from the metal and the remainder is an its purest form.

So, as we are going through our own fires, our own trials, no matter what brought them on, we won’t be destroyed. We can come out unharmed if we walk through the fire with God. We will be glorifying him on the other side just like Daniel‘s friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (Daniel 3)

God’s ultimate goal from the trials that we go through is to grow us closer to him and glorify him as we come out.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refine by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.” Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG

When we stop being stuck in the past we can enjoy the new things God is doing.

It’s so easy to get trapped in what was, the memories of yesterday, the good ole’ days, but honestly, were they all good and what if God has something better?

If Our head is stuck in the ground or buried in the past we are missing the new things that God is doing all around us. He promises that he is doing something new, he is working all things out for the good of those who love him. He is making a way through the wilderness, he is providing water in the desert, and he is giving a pathway through the fire. He’s making flower spring up and changing lives for the better.

God is constantly growing things, changing seasons, making all things beautiful in their time. And we can’t see it if we’re stuck looking back.

Even when my mind takes me back to how things once were and I began to yearn for my childhood or even as recent as my child back, it’s because I’m hurting in that moment and not seeing the good God has done. He allows me to reflect for a moment; he allows me to grieve what has been lost, but then God literally takes my heart and reveals to me what he has done and how he has used it all. At that point, I’m moved to dream dreams about the future, and passion drives me forward into what God still has to do with me.

God‘s not done yet.

God‘s not done with this earth, not with creation, not with you or with me. God has something New in store for you and me, and we have to keep our eyes focused on him walking or even running into the future instead of letting the past hold us back.

God is using your past to make something new in your future. He has used my hurts and my brokenness, to help others who have gone through the same or similar things. He has used the things that I have learned to help me to lead others closer to Him. And God is currently revealing to me and teaching me new things to use for the future He’s planned for me. As long as I’m alive, He’s got something new in store. Think about that. As long as you are alive, He’s wanting to use you for something New. Stop wrestling with what once was so you can flourish in what is to come. God has Something NEW for YOU!

“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘you are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:8-10

If God has called you, if he has wooed you to himself, he will never leave you or forsake you, but instead he will strengthen you and encourage you all the days of your life.

God creates all people, he alone knits them together in their mother’s womb. From the time you and I were born he began watching over us, allowing his eyes to roam across the heavens and all creation to see what all his creation was doing. He planned out our life, but out of his love for us gave us freedom to choose our paths. Yet in our choosing, he also knew the way we’d take. And within his specific creation, plans, and thoughts of us, he individually calls his people to himself.

Many think the “call” means into ministry or along some great path of that nature, but the call itself is just into being his child, a part of his family, to know him more intimately and follow his ways. The call is followed by love for his Son and acceptance of this love by calling his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

My specific call came as a small child, and my life has had so many twists and turns since, it’s no wonder I love pretzels. But seriously, I for one have the right to believe he has left me, he hates me, or that he isn’t even there. Yet I have no doubt that within all my life, circumstances and tragedies I’ve experienced that God ALONE has always been there. In my weakest moments, he’s the one that Strengthens me. He is the one who has lifted me out of the pit and encouraged me to keep going.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8

Even though everything else in my life has had a time – Things and people — God’s Word has ALWAYS been there and has NEVER changed. From the time God called me as a small child, from the time I could hear and eventually read his word, I have. It has been a constant, the Word of God, it is what has always proved true and allowed me to hear from him and experience him in my life.

No matter where I’ve been in my life, no matter what situation I find myself in, since God has called me he’s been with me. Even when I can’t feel his presence, I can go to Him through His Word and Prayer and He is always there.

Has God called you? Have you EVER felt His Call and chosen to accept it and follow Him? Then you are His Child and He is your Lord. He is with you, no matter what you’ve been through or are going through, He’s there. Go to Him, His Word, and you’ll find Him. He will strengthen you and help you to continue on.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

When things are going great it’s easy to lose sight of what is good.

“But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 32:25

Hezekiah had been so faithful to God for the majority of his reign. When things were hard and Assyria was ready to take over Judah and Jerusalem, Hezekiah kept his eyes, heart, and mind focused on God and His promises. Yet after God annihilated Assyria and allowed King Hezekiah to prosper, pride invaded their hearts and all humility was lost. As the lives of the Jews flourished, they lost sight of what was good.

So what does God call good?

• To Act Justly – seek to be fair and honest, living by the truth of God, even if others aren’t
• To Love Mercy – give in to others even when others don’t deserve it
• Walk Humbly with the Lord – treat others, especially God, as more important than themselves, with compassion and gratitude

Quickly, Hezekiah, Judah, and Jerusalem realized their sin of pride and repented, and God’s wrath left them, but not before it first caused some harm.

Sadly, pride is the downfall of many, and it so easily sneaks into our lives.

When things get tough we seek God more fervently, but when calmness, peace, or fruitfulness come, we can begin to forget where all of these gifts come from. We tend to forget our need for God and only see it all as our own strength and doing. At this point we lose sight of what is good and only see why we’re “great”.

To truly seek goodness, we have to walk humbly with God. That walk is a daily walk, always remembering the only way we can make it through each hour is to live fully in submission to Him. This is a turning from our selfishness and pride and a turning to His Truth found only in His Word. Never thinking more of ourselves and less of God, but less ON ourselves and more ON the God of the Heavens, realizing He is the only reason we are able to do what we do every day.