Calling the equipped!

You should rejoice if God brings someone into your midst who is better than you.


July 17

All of these descendants of Obed-edom, including their sons and grandsons—sixty-two of them in all—were very capable men, well qualified for their work.

1 Chronicles 26:8

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Calling the equipped!

Several times during the reading for today the author of Chronicles comments that the descendants of Obed-edom were exceptional men.  They were assigned the duties of gatekeepers and it appears that this duty required men of exceptional ability.  It has been said that God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.  However, you might interpret that saying, God is doing the equipping.  The descendants of Obed-edom were equipped before they were called.

Some people are under the false impression that God can only use simple people, so that God must work through them supernaturally to accomplish His tasks.  God also equips some to have natural abilities so that they can accomplish much of what He wants done in the world.  There are some who have a natural gift to teach before they ever teach a single thing.  Those gifts are obvious to everyone.

As leaders in families, ministries, churches, and in our communities we ought to be looking for those who God has equipped so that they can be assigned to tasks that allow them to fully explore and exercise those gifts and abilities.  In yesterday’s reading, we saw that it is the heart that determines a person’s usability by God, but God wants to use every gift that He has placed in the body.

This becomes difficult when there are people around us who are better qualified and equipped than we are.  This can create a sense of fear with leaders to try to block a well-qualified person from using their gifts for fear that they themselves might be replaced.  This is a selfish and self-centered attitude that does not bring glory to God.  You should rejoice if God brings someone into your midst who is better than you.

Never forget that if it was God who put you into the position of leadership, then it is His place to replace you if He so chooses.  To be afraid that might happen is a lack of trust that God has something better for you.  And after all, it is not all about you; it’s about God, it’s about the ministry, it’s about His church.  Who God uses to do what is His part; our part is to do our part, which is what He tells us to do.

As leaders we should be praying that God would bring people into our ministries and churches who are better equipped than we are so that our ministries and churches can be better than we are.  And then we should rejoice when God answers those prayers by helping those people find the place God can best use their gifts and abilities.  God is looking for leaders who are humble enough to encourage people better than they are to be a part of what God is doing around them.  Jesus, help us to see Your church, as Your church.

Daily Bible Reading:
Read: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 19:15-16
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