I remember one time when I was living in So Cal and had to use the 91 freeway to get to and from work. If you are unfamiliar with the 91 freeway let me just explain that there is NEVER a good time to take that freeway. Weekends, holidays, work days, mornings, afternoons, evenings, nights, and even in the twilight the 91 is bound to have you in stop-and-go traffic one way or the other. As I was in this traffic stand-still one day returning home from work and talking to God about something that was on my mind and heart for a while, He managed to use a billboard to speak into my life. A Geico car insurance billboard that I passed and read just about everyday all of the sudden became the voice of God. Because God can speak to us in strange ways. I wonder how many times I passed that billboard before I finally realized God was trying to tell me something.
Since that day I've always tried to be aware of what God might be using to speak to me. For the most part this has been successful but but other times I have found myself over-analyzing things. (See http://www,johndavidhall.blogspot.com/2008/07/housefly-vacation.html for example of this.) God has used all kinds of experiences and avenues to speak to me since then but Jesus must like Whoppers because last week He was speaking to me at a Burger King drive through. Or maybe he was there for the Chicken Fries. I guess that's not really important. I would like to share with you what He said to me.
as I was sitting in the drive-through, I looked up and saw a sign with a picture of that creepy looking King they use as a mascot. It read "Do you have what it takes to work for the King?" Instantly I began a personal inventory of whether or not I have the appropriate qualifications to work for "the King." But not the freaky-deaky Burger King guy. I was thinking about Jesus, the King of all creation. Did I really have what it takes to work for Jesus? Could I live up to that? Can any of us?
I let my brain and spirit marinade on these questions for a few days. I allowed them to work on me and in me and in reality I am still very much trying to get the whole message God has for out of this. So far I have come to the conclusion that whether or not I have what it takes isn't really the issue. Moses, David, Mary, Noah, Peter, Esther, Jacob, Abraham, Sarah; none of them had what it took to do what God was asking them to do. They all felt inadequate and under-qualified and God managed to find a way to some great things through them anyway. So if I look at Scripture, it doesn't matter whether or not I have what it takes. That's not the real question.
So, what is the real question then? As I considered this I again began to think about the people God engaged with in Scripture. Moses was an insecure mess, David was just a delivery boy, Peter was a self-deprecating manic-depressant. I mean, God's family seems to be the dysfunctional in history. But as I kept examining these individuals and their actions and attitudes it struck me what the real question was. It doesn't really matter whether or not I have what it takes. What matters is whether or not I'm willing to take what He has.
Am I willing to grab hold of the life God has for me and hold onto it tightly? Am I willing to deny myself in order to take up the cross He has for me? Am I willing to place my own agenda aside and pick up His agenda in it's place? Who cares whether or not I'm qualified? What difference does it take whether or not I already have what it takes? The question is whether or not I trust that God will give me what I need to live the life He has called me to live. It's not my responsibility to make sure my resume fits the job description God is giving me. I job is ALREADY mine. There was no interview or application process. The decision to hire me was ALREADY made. I don't have to concern myself with having what it takes I just need to take what He has ALREADY given me and get to work.
P.S.
Is this making sense to anybody? I often post things that God is speaking to me about personally while I am still digesting it all. Am I simply writing a bunch of incoherent thoughts and trying to connect them or is this actually heading somewhere to people other than me? Let me know.
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