Qualification?

God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

***

What is your qualification?

When God called me, mine was Zero.

I couldn't put together a sentence that would make sense, I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't lead, I couldn't preach. My level of development was not the top notch, to say the least. Mostly because of the environment I grew up in, I lacked hope big time.

And while feeling broken and incapable, I've had only one thing.

Desperate faith that God is bigger than me and that if He wants to do something through me, He will find a way.

He did.

Out of a dark room, He called me.

Out of hurt, pain, sleepless nights.

He whispered my name.

If you ask, I must tell you that I was petrified beyond explanation.

I thought God was making a serious mistake.

For real, I knew nothing. I had zero qualifications, I could't even control my emotions.
No discipline, no sense of self- worth, no faith in myself, only holding on to hope that God truly cares.

You know, I understand the feeling of doubt. I know it too well.
Fear so strong, it makes your body shiver? Yup, know that too.

Hear this.

Jacob was a liar.
Moses was a stutterer.
Gideon was a coward.
David was an adulterer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Esther was an orphan.
Balaam's donkey was...well, a donkey.

And yet God used each one of them to impact His kingdom.

Unqulified, definitely not perfect, some so immoral and hopelessly bad, that their whole family and all people they've ever known, didn't want to have anything to do with them. They would cast a stone at them whenever they got a chance.

Yet God goes for people who are far from perfect.
God  has the power beyond human abilities.

God WANTS to use everything you've gone through for His glory.
Your testimony will change lives.
Your story of getting out of trouble and depression will give people who have gone through similar things, hope, that they could get 'there', too.

He doesn't care if you're unqualified.

The only thing you need to put in your cv is:

I SUBMIT.

This is all God needs.
All of you.

He will make you qualified.
As you pray and dig into His word, He will pour His wisdom on you.
He will take you out of your comfort zone to get you to a totally new, different place.

You can't move on as long as you put your trust in you.
Or till you think that God is someone equal to you.

Have faith and hope,
Let Him use you.

Listen and go wherever He'd send you.

Learning is a process, so give it time.

He will send you.

Be open, and your life will change.


There is only one thing I can guarantee you:

God will never leave you nor forsake you, nor give up on you.

***

God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

In Him alone.

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6 NLT)

Be sure that your faith is in God alone.

Wow. This hit me. I pray about situations. Some of them include decisions people are making. I trust the leaders that I work with at church, so when I pray about certain situations, do I pray trusting that leaders would make the right move, or do I pray having faith in GOD to guide their hearts according to His will?
How easy is it to have faith in people who don't have the power to turn a black hair to white? How HARD is it to unconditionally have faith in God who created heavens and earth and every single living thing on here?!

Why is it so?

James called it 'divided loyalty'. This is serious business. He doesn't call it lack of faith. He calls is being disloyal towards our God.
We're not to have faith in earthly things or treat people and their wisdom as our gods or best helpers.
We're to believe in God, at all times, no matter what.
We're to be loyal to Him.




Not easy, but it is fundamental.

The most safe place

My heart filled with love
And joy overwhelming
Your goodness
Spreads
Your hope
Heals lives
Everyday fresh
Everyday new
Your mercy is
In my life
Thank You God
For loving and caring
Unconditionally
And so selflessly
That all I can do
Is praise Your holy name.

Forever I want to stay in this place
Of feeling with everything in me
That I am saved.

***

Roadblock

Roadblock. A time that everyone of us faces at some point in our life.
So many times we stop and we don't know which road to take.
Sometimes we have no choice but to stop and wait.
Times when we get so frustrated because we feel like we should be in a much better place by now, we should be doing way more, we should be happier...
A time when we are angry with ourselves.
A time when the only person we're mad with is us.
It is so hard to let go when you know you've screwed up.
It is so hard to accept forgiveness and enter the freedom God is wanting to give you.
Why?

Because people don't know all the emotions that go through you.
They don't know exactly what motives were driving you when doing that thing.
They don't know the thoughts that caused you self hatred so strong.. so strong you could die inside.
Over and over again.

I will tell you one thing.
I was mad with myself.
I was desperate to keep that one little thing to myself.
I was angry that God demanded it from me.
So angry.

I didn't want my sins to be forgiven.
I was my own judge.
I was my own prison.
Facing mirror I'd call myself the worst names.
I'd step away from people.
I'd shut up and curled up in the corner of my room, I'd cry.
And I'd cry myself to sleep every night.
I used to punish myself with dreams of my death
Or death of people I loved.
Accidents, sicknesses, hurts.
I was killing myself.

This was me 7 years ago.

Can I tell you one thing?
That God truly loves you?
That He is the only one who will always have time for you?

I know, it took me years to believe in this.
It ain't easy to believe that someone would love you so much that in order for you to be able to live in forgiveness of your sins.... He gave His only Son.

Only Love can do something like this.

Make this your turning point.
Take your anger and give it to God.
He's pretty fantastic at working it out.
Tell Him about your pain.
Let Him be your Healer.

Genesis 18:14
Is anything too HARD for the Lord?





Use the roadblock to grow and prepare yourself for the next season of your life.
sometimes God is stopping us so we could convert and allow Him to change our hearts, otherwise we wouldn't be able to take fully what He's prepared for us.
Obey, learn and grow.

it's a good thing

Lamentations 3:19-33
The Message (MSG)
It's a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

 19-21I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
   the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
   the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
   and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
 22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
   his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
   How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
   He's all I've got left.

 25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
   to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
   quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
   to stick it out through the hard times.

 28-30When life is heavy and hard to take,
   go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
   Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
   The "worst" is never the worst.

 31-33Why? Because the Master won't ever
   walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
   His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
   in throwing roadblocks in the way

*

Let this soak into your spirit, give it a minute. This passage has been so comforting to me this year. Today I feel like some of you need it, so even if it's just for one person, here you are, hope from God.

Wait for hope to appear.

Jesus Christ, the Lord you serve, is a faithful God.
is a mighty God.
He is Almighty.

He will get you out of this, there is an end to the times you go through.
Go through them well.
Don't focus on your pain, concentrate on being there for others, it's going to help you :)

John 8:36 “if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!”

 God loves you!

Let's talk

Let's talk about the times,
When everything seemed so full of pain,
that any kind of hope or even a nice word
looked just wrong and unfitted.

The times when the spirit felt broken
The heart crushed into pieces
The tears impossible to count
And eyes swollen from weeping.

Silence of dried lips
That scream we wished anyone would hear
Hand... unholded
And arms bend in loneliness.

Dreams then...
Were put on hold.
We only wanted to be able to fall asleep
And not wake up at 4am
Under the knife of painful memories.

Staring at the phone
Daring it to ring
Begging for anyone to care
And remember about our need.

Those dreams others would die for
Were nothing to us then
Because what are those great things,
Without a soul that can be free?

Never before
Has forgiveness been such a struggle
When trust has been left standing
At the doors of our heart.

To break through pain
To stand up again
Is a fight no man will understand
Unless being in that very place.

'To forgive is to let the prisoner free
And discover, that the prisoner was
You'.

Nothing can hold back from life
As much as memories that haven't been
Left behind.

Nothing can destroy the future more
Than holding on to past.

Nothing can free you
Except for Jesus.

Let's talk about dreams.
Those that seem insignificant in the eyes of others,
and those that are the basic ingridients for life.

Let's talk about new beginnings,
Where grass seems greener than usual
And the sound of rain
Is the most beautiful music.

Let's talk about the place
At which God wants us to be
The place where we are stronger
Only because we've gone,
Left and closed the doors,
Once and for all,
To that old one.

We are free,
Only when we let go.
We are able,
Only when we make God the head of our being.

We are,
And that's all that matters.

Corruption

Stop right here.

Corrupted by sin.
Caught up, wasted, dirty.
No coming backs, no running away.
Right here, right now is the point of conclusion.
The point at which the issue will either be confronted,
Or accommodated for.
The issue could be faced.
It could be dealt with,
Once and for all,
Doors to the past,
Closed.
From this moment on,
It's all gone,
It's forgiven, it's forgotten,
It will never be reminded of.
The new beginning could start in just a minute.
Unless....
Unless the issue was chosen to be accommodated for.
And this...
This means changing the life in a way that the issue would stay safe,
in the midst of life,
It would be never spoken of,
It would be the little secret
Of one mind and one room,
The secret that this one person,
Is actually double minded.

So here,
It is.
Imagine,
That we can no longer hide.
What do people do when it rains?
They want to hide under umbrellas.
But imagine that we use umbrellas of hindrance
For people to not be able to guess that we're dealing with sin.
And one day,
As we walk down the street, as usual,
Suddenly God takes away every single umbrella.
Suddenly,
Like Adam and Eve,
We run trying to hide from each others sight.
But this is it.
Everyone can see what one was trying to hide.
All the things we were trying to make work in our life
All the sin we didn't want to deal with.
Suddenly it's all right there,
Visible to everyone.



What would people find out about you if God took that umbrella away from you?