WEEK FOUR: RESTORATION

Several years ago, I was in a conversation with someone who was lamenting the fact that they had gone to Bible college and had never stepped into a ministry role after graduating. They were questioning why God would call them to go to Bible college and then not lead them to a place of ministry when they were finished.  I asked them how they were serving at their church at that time, and they proceeded to tell me that they weren’t serving at all… because what they believed they were called to do, they were not able to do there.  What I have come to realize in reflecting on that encounter was not so much a lack of “want to” but the fact that this individual felt like a failure because they hadn’t done what they had set out to do. They had stepped out, made a commitment, and were not able to follow through with it…and now anything else felt worthless.

John Mark was given the opportunity to serve alongside one of the dynamic duos of the early church (the apostle Paul and Barnabas), but somewhere along the way it lost some of its appeal and he walked away. This abandonment caused problems between Paul and Barnabas, and they parted ways, each continuing to follow their calling but in different directions. However, scripture later tells us that Paul comes back around, and John Mark becomes a valuable member of his ministry team. So what can we learn from Paul and John Mark?

First of all, God never revokes his calling. If God has called you, he doesn’t take it back. Regardless of how we may walk away, if we are willing to learn from our mistakes and seek forgiveness, God is more than willing to restore us. Unfortunately, even though God has forgiven us, we have a hard time believing that God could use us again (and therefore we are not willing to forgive ourselves). Then the enemy will use that to hold us back from moving toward what God has called us to do.

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” If God called you, he will see it through to the end. Remember, God sees the end from the beginning. His love is unconditional. He sees our potential even when we don’t see it ourselves. If we trust him, we can overcome our fears, our insecurities, and our failures, and we can embrace the unique calling he has place on our lives.

So what has God put on your heart to do? He has called each of us to something. Believe and trust God’s calling for yourself. Step out of your comfort zone. Use what God has given you and see what God will do with your life.