Until recently, I had resigned myself to a life of “ordinary” Christianity. In other words, I had sold my calling and place in this world short. As a self-proclaimed and Meyer’s Briggs-tested introvert, I put myself into a box. I firmly constructed walls around me to avoid the messiness and terror of stepping out for God. There were many times I have felt the pushing of God to go speak to someone or whatever it may be that I ignored because someone more well equipped with extroverdedness and a more “Godly” calling than me, a Psychology major, could handle. As I became more firm in this complacency, I became more emotionally unstable with fits of anger, jealousy, melancholy, and worthlessness gripping me. Not only did my own emotions plague me, but temptations became nearly overwhelming. I could feel the fingers of dissatisfaction squeezing me tighter and tighter.
Through a series of events I decided enough was enough. I was tired of constantly fighting myself. I am not called to be ordinary. You are not called to be ordinary. We aren’t called to attend church, read our Bibles in bed, give our tithes, and call it a day. As Mark Batterson says in his book All In, “It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All.” Stop selling yourself short, because ultimately that is selling God short. Saying you can’t be used by God for great things because of who you are or what you’ve done is doubting God’s greatness. It doesn’t take any amount of talent or perfection to be used by God, all it takes is faith. As John 14:12-14 says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” What an incredible promise this is that we will do greater things than even Jesus did. So with a bar set at walking on water and feeding 1000’s, why are we content with our Christian routine? I know this is true for me and many others, that we feel that we aren’t worthy or lack the right stuff to be used so greatly. But I tell you, it doesn’t matter what you lack, what you’ve done, or what you haven’t done to this point, your future doesn’t have to follow that path. The Bible shows this time and time again.
Paul went from a murderer of Christians to one of the most influential people in the Bible. Moses, gripped by insecurity about his stutter, led the Israelites out of Egypt. Rahab was not bound by her job as a prostitute, but helped the spies sent by Joshua. And there are so many more beautiful examples.
One thing that’s always been an issue of mine is, I want complete change or no change at all. So when I mess up at something, I will just give up because it’s not “perfect.” But I’ve heard a lot of great advice at just starting with the small things. It doesn’t have to be and it will never be a complete 180 overnight. So what does this look like? Start by giving God the footholds and wins that the Devil would normally have taken. Don't try to simply endure temptations, run from them by taking one step at a time. If your temptation is the opposite sex, start by deleting that person's number or no longer watching that mature show. If you don't think those little steps will help, you're wrong. God will use your faithfulness and strengthen you for larger battles. After all, as Luke 16:10 says, “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” So start paying attention to the small nudges of God and make those first steps. Don’t get overwhelmed by the journey ahead, but see it as one small decision after the other.
Through a series of events I decided enough was enough. I was tired of constantly fighting myself. I am not called to be ordinary. You are not called to be ordinary. We aren’t called to attend church, read our Bibles in bed, give our tithes, and call it a day. As Mark Batterson says in his book All In, “It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All.” Stop selling yourself short, because ultimately that is selling God short. Saying you can’t be used by God for great things because of who you are or what you’ve done is doubting God’s greatness. It doesn’t take any amount of talent or perfection to be used by God, all it takes is faith. As John 14:12-14 says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” What an incredible promise this is that we will do greater things than even Jesus did. So with a bar set at walking on water and feeding 1000’s, why are we content with our Christian routine? I know this is true for me and many others, that we feel that we aren’t worthy or lack the right stuff to be used so greatly. But I tell you, it doesn’t matter what you lack, what you’ve done, or what you haven’t done to this point, your future doesn’t have to follow that path. The Bible shows this time and time again.
Paul went from a murderer of Christians to one of the most influential people in the Bible. Moses, gripped by insecurity about his stutter, led the Israelites out of Egypt. Rahab was not bound by her job as a prostitute, but helped the spies sent by Joshua. And there are so many more beautiful examples.
One thing that’s always been an issue of mine is, I want complete change or no change at all. So when I mess up at something, I will just give up because it’s not “perfect.” But I’ve heard a lot of great advice at just starting with the small things. It doesn’t have to be and it will never be a complete 180 overnight. So what does this look like? Start by giving God the footholds and wins that the Devil would normally have taken. Don't try to simply endure temptations, run from them by taking one step at a time. If your temptation is the opposite sex, start by deleting that person's number or no longer watching that mature show. If you don't think those little steps will help, you're wrong. God will use your faithfulness and strengthen you for larger battles. After all, as Luke 16:10 says, “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” So start paying attention to the small nudges of God and make those first steps. Don’t get overwhelmed by the journey ahead, but see it as one small decision after the other.