Qualified to be "called" ?

Then I heard the voice of the LORD, saying,"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"  Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

Do you ever feel unworthy, not qualified, not good enough? Do you look at your present status and  think there is no way that you will ever meet your goals, or fulfill dreams? I battled with this and still do from time to time. I think there comes a time in everyones's life when they say "I could never do that." Sometimes our circumstances have a way of crushing our dreams and leaves us feeling hopeless..but stay encouraged. God has a way and to find the way we must first step onto the highway called "faith".

MY CALLING ~a small testimony of how God chose a "nobody"

The gracious LORD showed me a glimpse of my calling from the very beginning of my conversion to HIM. When I was just a "baby in the LORD".  I received a dream and in that dream I saw myself serving the LORD in a foreign country. It was in some sense a very beautiful dream, because I saw at one point, a picture of our LORD sitting on his throne, in the night sky and next to HIM he had my name with the words I LOVE YOU. It was beautifully written in sand but cut out and placed in the sky. I would love to share the details, but to get further into the point of this story, I will spare them for now. You would think that this dream would have touched my heart and I would have welcomed this glimpse of my future in the LORD with awe, but actually I felt the opposite. When I opened my eyes from that dream I immediately got out of my bed and fell to my knees pleading with God not to send me. I was scared. I was just a baby. Well time passed by, and you know, God has a way of making His purpose and desires for us our own. I began over the years hungering to be used by the LORD and filling those shoes. But I didn't see how GOD could use someone like me. Here I was, a single mother, not experienced in much of anything...no real education (I barely made it through high school) and had no formal training other than the BIBLE studies I had received and the hands on practice that I had with my local church. I saw no way for me to be able to be used by God, so I did what every other doubter does and pushed it aside and tried to live my life without it. But my desires grew, and every time I tried to forget them the LORD would bring it back to me in another dream and then another....this occurred for about 9 years....until I had my official "CALLING".

Yes, I say that because The LORD was letting me know that no matter how hard I try the LORD's plan is HIS plan, and no matter how hard we try to escape it, we just can't. We all have a purpose and was created just for that purpose. Without it our life has no meaning. So the LORD, I suppose, was saying something like, "Thats it. Its time to wake up and believe it!"....So here is the awesome encounter I had .

One day as the church and I were gathered for our Friday night prayer meeting the LORD decided to show up on scene. Our church is fairly small and there were only a handful of us there. Our congregation usually start off praying in our own little prayer closets and pray for an hour and then meet together to end our prayer meeting in unison. But these prayer meetings were a little different as the pastor had changed it. He eliminated us coming together at the end to pray and instead prolonged the hour to a longer period of time so that there were little restrictions on how long you prayed. That way those coming in late didn't have to cut their prayer short but could stay and get a full prayer in & those who were there on time could finish at the normal hour or could stay longer. When you finished you just simply got up and left for home or stayed to attend a class scheduled afterward. I know you are wondering why I went into detail on this, but just bare with me; you will see.

I usually pray at the alter and I have my own little system. I choose (this is just me) to cover myself with a blanket while praying. I do this to get more of that "prayer closet" feeling and also because I feel in my heart to humble myself when coming before the throne room of GOD. Anyway...there I was praying wrapped in my prayer blanket at the alter and I hear others not far around me praying. I was praying real hard for the Father to send labors out to the harvest field for some time and also for revival, lost souls, etc.
Now I have felt the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT many times in prayer. But this day was different. Suddenly, while on my knees before the alter this powerful force just came so strong over me that it literally pushed my face to the floor and I could not move. Then the spirit began to speak and interpretation came forth. I never was used to interpret before but always prayed for it to come forth...so I asked the Lord to use someone to bring forth the interpretation. Well, the LORD chose me for the first time and I was amazed by that. But what was more amazing was the message! The word came as a question. " Who shall I send?", "Who shall I send?" This repeated a few times until, in my mind and in my heart, I replied "Here I am Lord, Send me!!" I didn't know who the calling was for. It could have been for anyone there, as far as I knew.  I am paralyzed on the floor covered in a blanket & the sanctuary was quiet, but I didn't think anything of it because there is always what they call a "holy hush" that comes right before the LORD wants to speak. Well, I worshiped and thanked the LORD for a while & when I lifted the blanket off and looked around I saw that I was the only one there. I was really disturbed by this at first because I thought surly after an awesome visitation from the LORD someone would be lingering around to worship or take in all of HIS presence, but no one was there. I got up and went to attend the class in the back room. I noticed everyone else was acting kinda normal and here I am still trembling and a little drunk-like in the spirit. I held my peace until the end when I asked someone privately, "What did you think of that awesome message?" They had no idea what I was talking about and I was shocked, because this person was there early enough to not have missed it. I got angry in my spirit thinking, "No one heard the LORD?" It bothered me so much I couldn't sleep and the next morning called my pastor. I reached his wife who was present at the prayer meeting and after asking her, I found out that truly no one was there when this all happened. She then confirmed it was for me and that I indeed was called by GOD! Hallelujah!!!!!!!! I was thrilled!! I began fasting and seeking the LORD on what He wanted me to do.....well guess what....He gave me the same thing....he reminded me of the dreams I have had, gave me scripture and then I began to go through a period of changes. The LORD had called me to the mission field, to take HIS WORD to the streets! That was what He wanted me to do first, to take it to the streets of where I lived. So I did and I have never been the same since I took those steps. God reminded me that this is just the beginning of the major plan HE has, but it took me to take those baby steps first.


YOUR CALLING

Now I tell you my story not to boast, but to show that we do all have a calling. We all feel unworthy, not qualified; but GOD never fails. If you have felt called to do a work for the LORD, then have faith. Don't doubt it. Just trust the LORD and be amazed! I tell you today, I am more ready to take on anything the LORD has for me than when all the 10 yrs living for the LORD. It is not what I can do but what HE can do. It is not what I have, but what HE has. I still don't know how this "nobody" can serve the LORD the way He has planned for me or why HE chose me.  Honestly, I don't have the knowledge, the credentials, or the funds to do anything He calls me to do. But, it is what it is. GOD doesn't make mistakes. He won't call you if he thinks you aren't ready, trustworthy, or good enough. He won't say,"Uh, on second thought, maybe this isn't for you after all." GOD chose you for a reason. When Jeremiah was called He told the LORD " I am just a child". But the LORD told him that before he was in his mother's womb HE had already ordained him to be a prophet. (Jeremiah1:4-10) His ending was written before his beginning. And so is ours. We must trust our Heavenly Father. I will admit, that its not easy and sometimes I stand back and say "Whoa, maybe I can't do this. It seems so impossible." After all, I am only a single mother of two kids, with no family to help me care for them. I have no money and I am the least qualified. Out of all in the world He still chose me and He has chosen YOU!!!

Please take a look at another humble servant who was unqualified for a calling, yet was called and used by God in a very powerful way. You may have heard of him. His name is Arthur Blessitt. He was called to carry a wooden cross around the whole world! Please watch the clip and be touched by His story.

May JESUS bless you and use you in a powerful way! Just shine for the LORD! Feel free to leave your story or comment here. If you would like, feel free to send me a message. I would love to hear from you!

Watch this touching clip of Arthur Blessitt!