Am I?

This post came to my mind a couple nights ago while I was sitting down and thinking of all the things I need to do this summer, having to prepare for the fall and even my life choices over the next couple of years. Don’t ask me why this hit me all at once, I’m assuming it happens to all of us at least one time or another. We get overwhelmed thinking about all of the decisions we need to make and questioning everything. Am I qualified? Am I enough? Am I ready? Am I a good friend, person, or coworker? Am I doing enough? It’s exhausting and it can take everything out of you just thinking about all of it. The one thing we need at that time is peace and God gives that to us through telling us to just chill and that He has everything worked out for our good and His glory. It can be hard to picture this during the moments that you get so overwhelmed, but true faith and trust come into play when you let go of what you think you should be doing and let the Lord guide you to truly knowing who you are. 

Before every nursing test I have a good friend who prays for us. It fills me with so much joy to hear her say every time, “remind us that we are not defined by the grade we make, but by who You say that we are”. God never questions who we are because He defines who we are. In Exodus 3, God is talking to Moses through the burning bush. He is telling Moses to go to Egypt and talk to Pharaoh about letting the Israelites go from slavery. Now if I was in Moses' position, obviously I would feel unqualified for what the Lord has called me to do. I am simple person who doesn't know hardly anything, yet, you want me to go and tell someone who the people consider to be a god that he needs to do what I say. It sounds nuts but God calls people like you and me to do things like this every day. They might not be as big as what Moses had to do but a calling is a calling and whether you are doing it for the whole world to see or just a small group of people the Lord sees your hard work and He will reward you according to it. He also reassures us that although we might not feel prepared we don't have to be, He is "I Am" and that is all we need.

I'll admit that I didn't really want to be writing this today. I am tired and really just want to take a nap and eat some Oreos, but I think someone needs to hear this today. Nothing that this world can give you tells you who you are. We are defined as children of God. He has guaranteed us a spot in heaven with our name on it and that is where we truly will reap the rewards of where He sends us. He might not be looking for a venture to Africa to spread the gospel, maybe He's asking you to visit the people down the street who don't have a church home or the coworker who might not be the nicest person but you know is missing something in their life. Maybe He is calling you to something extravagant like a global trip, but whatever it may be we have to remind ourselves that although it might not be easy it doesn't mean we stop trying to do everything we can to lead people towards His kingdom. 

May the peace and love of God be with you always,

Leah Carpenter