“…that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”
Ephesians 1:18
Before we can run our race, we have to know which race is ours to run. If I’ve been signed up to run a relay race, but I run a long distance race instead, I’ve lost my race. Even if I outran everyone in the long distance race, the race that counts is the race I was entered into. Similarly, I can’t live my life just doing good things for God, I need to find out what He specifically wants me to do and then do that. At the end of my life, I will stand before God to give Him an account as to how I lived my life. He isn’t going to ask me if I did good things; He is going to ask me if I did what He asked me to do. My obedience is much more important than any of my sacrificial good works, and my obedience is what I will give an account for.
When you know your calling and you let God set you in the place that He has called you to, there is nothing and no one that can remove you from that position. When it is God that establishes you, you can be confident that He will also sustain and keep you. When difficult times come, and they will come, you will be able to remain firm and finish your assignment. Keep your eyes on the prize, and complete the race that is set before you.
God wants you to be confident in His choice of you. In John 15:16 the Lord says that He is the One who does the choosing; we don’t choose ourselves for ministry. You may not understand why God would choose you for the work He has shown you to do, but if He has chosen you then you can rest in His choice, for it is not simply you, but God, who is at work in you. And God is greater than you, and God’s grace is more than enough to work through you and to handle the task at hand. So just be glad that God’s hand is on you and be willing to obey. Be willing to open your heart to receive all that God intends for you and your ministry. It’s not up to you and your ability, but it is up to God and His ability. So be happy about it, because God will be lifted up for His decision to use you. No, He doesn’t make mistakes, and He doesn’t change His mind. He is never caught off guard, and He doesn’t take something back once it goes from His hand. God has got you. He will see you through.
Application: What is your ministry? If you don’t know, then ask God. Ask God how He wants you to serve Him in ministry. You might be called to be in church leadership or you might be called to a supportive role, but whatever it is, do it in obedience to the One who called you.