Faith Forward Future By Chad VeachUddrag

When it comes to your future, God’s not looking for your capability; he’s looking for your availability. Maybe you’re ignoring the plan because you think it’s only for “them” and not for you. Maybe your problem is not that God hasn’t chosen you or that your past is too messed up, but that you’re too busy waiting to get perfectly right with him before you think you can be used. When I was just a young youth minister, fresh out of Bible college, I had zero qualifications for the job. I remember the first time I had to preach. I was so nervous. What was I thinking? I thought. I shouldn’t be doing this! As I drove to the church, I blasted Tupac in the car to pump myself up. Now, if that doesn’t demonstrate how unprepared I was to be preaching to young people, I don’t know what does. But, in the end, I trusted that God would use my quirks and mistakes and just kept moving forward. And you know what? Despite my personal insecurities and inappropriate choice of musical inspiration, God did use me. You might think that you need textbook preparedness and perfection to step into God’s will, but with this perspective, you could be waiting your whole life to walk in your future. I’m glad I didn’t wait until I had my act together to preach my first sermon. I would still be waiting today! It’s time to stop waiting for the supposedly perfect conditions. God doesn’t need you to be perfect. He needs you to show up with faith and a little bit of fiery passion. He needs you to say, “What do you have for me next? I’m ready.” This is what he saw in Paul: a passionate person who was channeling his passion in the wrong way. And he used this passionate man for good. He didn’t ask him to tone it down once he got saved. Instead, God used his unique personality. He was the one that made Paul that way. And he made him that way for a reason, just like he made you the way you are for a reason. Step away from yourself and examine your own life. Ask yourself, “How did God create me? What part of my unique design is he asking me to make available for him to use?” What if it’s our inadequacies, not our achievements, that make us the perfect candidates?