He pushed (ok - gently shoved) me through some areas that were very much out of my comfort zone! Looking back I know had I not written those talks and learned that writing came easy for me I would not have wanted to move on the the next challenge. God laid on my heart to write a book. I knew nothing about writing a book. For my 40th birthday Mike gave me a laptop to start writing. I have written four books which opened the door for me to work with youth and give talks with them. Through all of this I learned my spiritual gifts were faith, mercy and leadership. I had never thought of myself as a leader.
\
He helped me realize that writing was like therapy for me. Fast forward eight years down the road and I would have never believed how therapeutic writing was for me as I wrote on Caring Bridge while I battled cancer. I was too tired to talk (I know that is hard to believe) and I worked through so many feelings by writing. Fast forward six more years and I could see how God used the cancer and the writing for me to start writing blogs. He never wastes anything! Even the bad, He brings good from it! Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
I have been a long time believer in the saying, "God does not call the equipped but equips the called." Another is, "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called!" Apostle Paul wasn’t eloquent, but God used him because he depended on the Holy Spirit to guide him. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." The Bible is full of other examples of God equipping ordinary people. God guided Moses, who at first asked God to get someone else to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Jonah, not thinking the Ninevites deserved God's mercy, ran the other way!
In Luke 12: 11, Jesus brings comfort to his followers as He talks to them about being a witness. "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say..." We really should believe that God will equip us! If He can speak through a donkey, we should be no problem for Him! Numbers 22: 28, "Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?'”
God does not call the equipped; He equips the called! As Christians, we are to share what He has done in our life. Sharing our faith is a command. Some of Jesus' last words were from Matthew 28: 19, "Go and make disciples of all nations." God is calling you, equipping you, preparing you according to His purpose.