“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” -1 Corinthians 12:4–6
I love these verses because they remind us that God has uniquely gifted each of us. We don’t all have the same gifts. We don’t all have the same abilities. We don’t all have the same calling. But God has a purpose for each of us, and He wants to use us to make a difference in the lives of the people around us.
But sometimes God gives us a nudge toward something, and our first response is, “I can’t do that.” Maybe we don’t feel qualified. Maybe we’ve never done anything like it before. Maybe we look at our own abilities and think, “I’m sure God could find someone better suited for this.” But I learned a simple truth many years ago that has always stuck with me: God doesn’t call the qualified—He qualifies the called.
Think about Gideon. God called him a “mighty warrior,” yet Gideon didn’t see himself that way at all. He saw his weaknesses and limitations. God was well aware of Gideon’s weaknesses. But God wasn’t asking Gideon to accomplish something in his own strength. God was going to work through him.
And that’s the encouragement we find in these verses. Paul says there are different gifts, different kinds of service, and different kinds of working, “but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” The same God who calls us is the God who equips us. He knows what He’s asking us to do, and He knows what we will need to do it.
Just as we’ve been talking about on Sundays, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. So, if God has been nudging us toward something, maybe we don’t need to ask, “Am I qualified?” Maybe we just need to ask, “Do I trust God to equip me?”
Because if He’s calling us to it, He will give us what we need to do it!
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