Equipped.

A little less than a year and a half ago I was sitting in the basement conference room of a Marie Calendar's in Pismo Beach, CA listening to a man talk to pastors and their spouses.

My spouse was currently NOT present as he was learning to hear God's voice more clearly in the vastness of nature, fondly known as the "Back Nine".

I had just come off of a weekend conference for Youth Leaders in San Diego, stacked with famous worship leaders, powerful speakers, and more free candy than anyone could ever dream.

Often times, these kinds of things overwhelm me to the point of no return. It is a lot of people. A lot of Christian "networking". A lot of youth pastors with back packs and new balance shoes. A lot of seminars. A LOT of "God".

Please note: I am not talking about the "lot of God" that is good, satisfying, and necessary. I'm talking about the "lot of God" that is in your face, publicized, "if you don't raise your hands in a powerful fist pumped toward the heavens during worship you must not be a very good Christian" lot of God.

There is a huge difference.

So...maybe it was that.
Maybe I was coming down off of a starstruck sugar high...

Either way...I was tired, moody, and didn't want to be stuck in a room with a whole bunch of pastors. Again.

Usually in these situations, I come up with a really good excuse for why I need to "rest" in my hotel room and spend some quiet time with the Lord aka catch up on my missed shows on Hulu.

But this day, I was through the door of the conference room, sitting at a table, "spouse-less", with notebook and bad attitude in hand.

This is the message I heard that morning. The message that I needed to hear and haven't forgotten.

God's intentions are not thwarted by our failures. Even through defeat, He is carrying out His call on your life. Why? Because He has been working on our call before we were even here. He has equipped us with everything that we need to walk into His call because...

What is ordinary to us becomes extraordinary for the sake of God. 

This Christmas, as a gift from my brother-in-law, this message became a permanent reminder to me that God is faithful, that He has equipped me with what I need to walk into His call, and that it is ALL about Him. 

May we always be reminded that walking this walk requires faith, action, trust, and obedience. 

And sometimes, we just have to step out of our comfortability and insecurities to recognize that we have been equipped with extraordinary resources to live, love, and make God known.