Over spring break, I went on a mission trip to Houston, Texas to do some hurricane relief for the damage that had been done by Hurricane Harvey this past fall. Going down there, I thought we were just going to be picking up trash and painting things. Once we got down there and met with the group we were working with called Attack Poverty, they informed us that we would be demo’ing houses. W H A T. Immediately, I began to panic and compare myself and my experience with others. This job required me to use big hammers, and I have never really been a “big hammer” type of person. I didn’t know a single thing about taking things apart, let alone taking apart an entire house. They started giving us face masks and lots of tools, and I thought, “Woah woah woah.. hold on. Hey, uhhh, God, I think you got the wrong person because I don’t know how to do any of this.” How is it that God called me here? Why me instead of others? I mean, we are talking about peoples’ homes! Families made their lives here, and I’m going to help tear it down. That seemed like a pretty big job for someone who felt so small.Ā I could not see how God could use me in a situation where I felt so utterly useless.
I was listening to music as we drove to the worksite. “You Make Me Brave” by Bethel was playing.
“You make me brave / You make me brave / You call me out beyond the shore into the waves.”
As the lyrics of the bridge played over and over, God’s peace tore through my fear, pierced through my insecurities, and He drove His truth right into my heart.
The Lord reminded me of the story of Moses in Exodus 3. The Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush and He told Moses that He had heard and seen the cries of his people (wow, how good and faithful is our God?!), and that Moses would be the man to go to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, and bring all of the people of Israel out of slavery. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty big job. And Moses was no extraordinary guy. He had no power of any kind, and certainly no authority to command the ruler of Egypt to let the Israelites go. When the Lord told Moses of His plans for him, Moses had the same reaction as I did. “But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?'” (Exodus 3:11). Surely, God had gotten the wrong guy. But what does God say in response to Moses’s doubt, fear, and insecurity? In Exodus 3:12, God says “I will be with you.”
God didn’t ask Moses to have all of the details. He didn’t ask him to know what to say to Pharaoh or to know how to get all of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. God simply asked Moses to show up–He would do the rest.
Through this truth, God reminded me that he didn’t call me to come do hurricane relief work in Houston because I was a professional at demolishing houses or because I knew how to use a sledgehammer. He didn’t place this trip on my heart because I was knowledgeable. He called me because he wanted to use ME, just as I am. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know how to take apart a house because God would provide me with what I needed to be able to do it. When God called Moses, he didn’t just say “good luck,” and let him figure it out on his own. He led him, guided him, and qualified him, just as He did with me.
He made me useful when I thought I was useless. He equipped me when I didn’t feel prepared. He qualified me when I was clueless. All because He spoke the truth into my heart and then dared me to walk in it.
So next time you think God’s got it wrong, like you are the the wrong person for the job, remember that because of the sole fact that he chose YOU, you are exactly right.
Know that BECAUSE HE CHOSE YOU, you are good enough.
He is always doing a new thing–around us AND through us– so show up for it. š
(P. S. – By God’s grace, our team was able to tear down 3 houses and 2 trailers to pave the way for new starts, and put all new flooring and molding in another home along with other repairs. Praise Jesus! Scroll down for some cool pictures, too!)
With love,
Sarah
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” – Isaiah 55: 10-11 NLT
Mom
This is a good time to watch some Veggietales again. š