Laughing Jesus by Robert Wilson, Sr.
Today, as I think on God and His word, His promises to us as speakers and writers, I’m reminded of Philippians 2:13:
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NIV
This says God is working in you and me, giving us the desire and the power to do what He wants us to do. Did you see that He not only gives us the POWER to do it, but the DESIRE as well?
So, are we doing it? Are we seeking his will for our lives? Are our efforts achieving what He has for us to achieve?
The question then becomes: And if we’re not desiring or achieving a certain thing, does that mean it’s not His will for us?
I must respond with an astounding NO!
Years ago, as I was reading in Titus 2, I clearly heard God speak to my spirit: You need to share your marriage testimony with the ladies of your church. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear and I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. After all, I wasn’t involved with many women at my church…or any church for that matter.
Having grown up as a tomboy in churches where women were often gossipy, clique-ish, and petty, I’d never particularly even liked women. I had limited my ministries to children’s church, teaching children in Sunday School, working with children’s choirs, and singing in the adult choir. After all, kids didn’t care if my home wasn’t a picture out of decorating magazines or that my nails were chipped. They just wanted to know I loved them. And I did.
I had no desire–and in my mind, no power–to speak to women. I’d never even been to one of our women’s ministry meetings. But after fighting with God for weeks, I finally relented and told him I’d give a 10-minute testimony at one of the monthly gatherings. I actually told God I would do this because He said I had to, but I wanted Him to know I wasn’t happy about it!
A few days later, I met with the women’s ministry leader at my church and told her God told me I had to share my testimony. “So which month would you like for me to do it? Ten minutes and I’ll be done and God will leave me alone!”
I had NO desire.
Sandra surprised me with the fact that I wouldn’t be giving a 10-minute testimony. Instead, I’d be the retreat speaker and would be speaking for four hours! Of course, I let her know quickly that she was crazy. But then she said the words I couldn’t argue with. “I’ve been having difficulty finding the right speaker for our retreat, so THIS WEEK I told God that if He wanted us to have a retreat speaker, He was going to have to bring her to me.”
I looked around. No one standing there except me.
That was 1997. I had no desire to speak to women. But God took me kicking and screaming into women’s ministry…and I came home from that weekend knowing what I was created for.
What does God have for you to do? You may not have the desire to do it…yet. You may not feel you have the power to do it…yet. But God has the power and the desire to bring about His perfect will in you and through you.
We simply have to be willing to say yes when our minds and hearts say no.
I pray God’s blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts.
Vonda
