Recently, one of my close relatives, along with her husband,
purchased a rehab property (Better known as a fixer-upper) from the
City for only $1. Though the purchase price was wonderful, the house
needed a significant amount of work done to it. I remember my initial
walk-through; I noticed right away how beautiful the overall structure
of the house was, but there was a pretty intimidating amount of work
that needed to be done to it.
Walls, window frames, floors,
outdoor siding, plumbing etc. all had to be corrected in order to make
the house inhabitable and bring it up to code. Though the husband and
wife pair were optimistic and determined to complete most all of the
repairs themselves, excluding major work like plumbing and siding, many
people close to them thought they might run into some issues. It seemed
inevitable to the skeptics that they would need Contractors to finish
the job.
Well, yesterday, I went for a second walk-through and my
jaw nearly hit the floor. I knew they had been working tirelessly on
their new property, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Truly, I
could not believe my eyes. Without assistance from anyone, these two
had added insulation, put up drywall, repaired window frames, smoothed
out walls, added primer, cleared out lots of the junk and so much more.
When I tell you it looked like a new house, I mean it.
I stood their gawking, half in shock.
You
know, that walk-through got me thinking. Sometimes, as we travel the
road toward purpose, we often get intimidated by what we see. We often
allow the enormity of the task and all the potential roadblocks to
cause us to shy away from what God has called us to do. But we have to
remember, anything the Lord commissions us to accomplish, He equips us
to do it successfully.
I don't care how implausible, impossible,
or improbable it seems, you've got to know that the Father has already
empowered you to prosper in whatever area He's thrust you into. Have
you taken into account the fact that God already knew (and still knows)
what you were and weren't working with, long before He gave you that assignment?
It's not like He chose you for the job and along the way said,
"Oops... I didn't know you didn't have such and such." He's the
Omniscient one, thus, there are no "oops" moments with God!
In Exodus 3, when God, The Great "I Am," selected Moses to speak on His behalf and deliver the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, he didn't say, "Oops, I didn't know you had a speech impediment Moses...guess I need to find another speaker." God already knew Moses' challenge; yet, it didn't matter, because Moses was chosen... just as you are.
Before
you were formed in your mother's womb, the Bible says, God already new
you. (Jeremiah 1:5) So, no matter what you appear to be lacking, the
power of God at work in you, compensates for all that. You might feel
too small for that big job, but the Holy Ghost dwelling in you makes
the difference.
What others might need a crew and a specialized team of people to
accomplish, God will give you the strength and wisdom to do it all on
your own. So, don't don't allow what you don't have, to become that
crutch that makes you say, "If I had this or that I would..."
No.
Use what you've got and watch what God does.
Just
like Jesus fed the multitude with the 2 fish and 5 barley loaves (Mark
6), as the saying goes, "little becomes much when you place it in the
Master's hand."
Don't be discouraged by the size of the task. I
know you might feel like you don't have the strength to carry out God's
will... and you're partly right. You don't have the strength on your own, but you can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you.
Just
like my family members are giving that house an overhaul on their own
without prior experience, formal training, or outside assistance, you
too, can take on whatever God is challenging you to do.
Step out
and try God. All you need to be is a willing vessel and He will do
great and awesome things through you that you never dreamed possible.
As always, thanks for reading, and until next time...may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
www.eewmagazine.com
