Called or Qualified?

"God doesn't call the qualified...He qualifies the called." (Author unknown - found circulating on the web)

I love this quote - it is a reminder that we all start out the same - tiny and naked! But it's what we allow God to do with our lives that makes the difference.

As we walk with God, He brings people, experiences and advice (from His word and from other sources) across our path to mentor us, guide and instruct us. Life is a great big Home-school classroom!

The things we learn from life prepares us to take yet another step toward what He envisions us to be. Talk about a loving Father! He knows our potential and never ceases to work to help us develop it, painstaking inch by inch - sometimes with us kicking and screaming the whole way.

The older I get, the more I recognize His work in my life to qualify me for the things God has planned. As a loving Father, He sent me off to college, even when my family said it was impossible. Like a loving Father, He provided a job as a proofreader and later as a writer at small weekly papers, knowing I'd someday need those skills.

He provided opportunities to develop people skills, writing and research skills. He encouraged and proved to me "you can do it" when I kept saying, "I can't." And He hasn't stopped yet - doors are still opening that I hesitate to walk through, because I feel inadequate. Yet, He takes me step by step in the direction of those doors until I can and do step through.

I haven't always enjoyed the experiences He has allowed - the pain and shame of abuse, the pain of the recovery process, embarrassment, pain, grief - those experiences some would consider negatives. Yet, even those things have worked good in my life.

Because each of us are unique, He has used unique experiences in each of us - real one-on-one instruction to move us to where we need to be. Only God can do that, working to qualify each of us for our one-of-a-kind position in His kingdom. Wow!