Ephesians 1:7-9, 17 - Our Calling: Discover, Recover, Uncover

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he^[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 


Through the Holy Spirit (who is the presence of God in us), we can pray for wisdom, discernment and revelation to unlock His special calling in our lives, to walk us through tough times, to lead us to a greater understanding of who He is, to care for others, to grow our faith journey . . . the list is endless.

Wisdom is the ability to see things the way they really are.  In other words, wisdom is facts and truth, as we see them through our own life's filters.

Discernment (understanding) is the ability to solve problems or understand the knowledge (wisdom) that we have been given.  In other words, discernment and understanding are the tools to understand wisdom.

Revelation is only given to us by God and can only be understood by wisdom and discernment.  It's being able to truly see God's hand and to hear His still, small voice.

All three, wisdom, discernment and revelation come to us through the Holy Spirit.  When I truly began to recognize that the Holy Spirit is the true presence of God residing in me, my spiritual life forever changed.  Soared to the next level.  Seemed obvious, but yet it wasn't. Blows me away, actually.

I then began to discover that the more time I spend connected with God  through prayer and study of His Word, the more He began to reveal to me.  It's like when we spend a long time with someone -- a friend, a spouse.  The adage that we become more like them and can even complete their sentences IS TRUE!  So, the more time I spend with God (as my Heavenly Father, my Savior Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), the more I become like Him.  I can begin to complete His sentences because I know who He is.  The greater presence He has in my life, the more He can use me, and the more I can see when He's giving me truth, understanding and prophetic revelation.

No special favors here.  Don't misunderstand.  I'm a sinner who has fallen short more times than there are stars in the sky.  But, because I strive to seek His face first before seeking His hand, because I strive to invite Him into a greater presence in the depths of my life and soul, because I strive to spend more time with Him every day, because I strive to share Him with others either directly or through regifting His grace to others . . . . because He is on the throne of my life, He knows His wisdom, discernment and revelation are no longer falling on my deaf ears.  So, He can entrust me with more.

The deeper we allow our lives to be permeated by the Holy Spirit is in direct correlation to how much we experience God's gift of wisdom, discernment and revelation.  When I truly began to see that the presence of God was REALLY, TRULY in ME, through the Holy Spirit, it radically changed my perspective of my faith; my dependence on God grew exponentially.  And, as a result, I've been experiencing a level of wisdom, discernment and revelation that I never knew was possible.  Only by God's grace.  I can see and understand so much more than ever before because, through the time I spend with Him, I've invited Him to show me more.

How does this relate to discovering, recovering and uncovering our God-given calling?

If you are not already doing what you believe is God's calling in your life for this point in your life, ask for Him to show it to you.  Pray for wisdom (facts and the truth), pray for discernment (understanding what to do with the truth), and pray for revelation (seeing and knowing God's hand).

God blesses us for many reasons, not the least of which is to use those blessings to bless others (i.e. Regifted Grace).  That's our calling -- using our God-given knowledge, skills and abilities for touching the lives of others. Even if "others" is just one person.

Discover your calling by praying for wisdom -- ask God to help you see the facts and truth about your skills, your desires, your perfectly divine fit.

Recover your calling by praying for discernment -- ask God to first heal you from anything that's stopping you from understanding and believing in your true gifts for service.  Rather than making excuses, pray for God to strip you of the chains that are holding you back.  Pray for discernment to understand the things that are holding you hostage from your dreams, your calling, your service.  Pray that, through your life's filters, you can understand and trust in what He's calling you to do AT THIS POINT IN TIME.  Sometimes, that calling is "to be still and know" -- He may be saying stay tuned because He's not ready to reveal it yet.  God can and does call "broken vessels."  All the time. Sometimes He will help you heal before the calling, sometimes during the calling, and other times after He has called.  But, it all starts with praying for discernment.

Uncover your calling by praying for revelation -- let God show you His plan for your life.  Don't hide it under the small voice saying, "But, I can't because . . . . ."  When you are in tune and spending time with God, He can choose to truly reveal His will for your life.  Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) goes on to say "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you."  Spend time with God, allow His presence to permeate your soul, allow Him to reveal Himself to you.

God DOES call ALL who profess to know Jesus as Lord.

Feeling stuck or "challenged" because life hurts?  Perhaps you're caring right now for someone with Alzheimers.  I cry often for the things that are lost because this disease took my dad and is now taking my mom.  But, rather than mourning the losses, I rejoice in the gains.  My faith has grown.  I'm spending the last years of mom's life helping to care for her.  I get to see her smile, make her laugh, make her use soap in the shower.  God is calling me to encourage others who are caring for loved ones.  He's teaching me how to do that through caring for my parents.

Don't count the losses.  Count the gains.  Unleash the chains that are holding you hostage.

Challenge yourself today to discover, recover and uncover God's purpose and plan for your life.  He's already guaranteed it in His word.  He wants to give it to you.

Want to experience the joy of regifting His grace?  Tell Him today that you're ready to start the journey.  Tell Him you're ready to Start "the Walk."

©2015 Regifted Grace Ministry LLC

Philippians 1:18-20 -- When It's Hardest to Pray, Pray the Hardest

¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.  Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

I love those days when God speaks so clearly and vividly.  And, having two of them back to back nearly blows my socks off.

While driving home from church today, I saw the phrase "When It's Hardest to Pray, Pray the Hardest" on a church marquee.  Sadly, my first thought was of the really difficult times where I can hardly sputter out the words in prayer and sometimes just resolving myself to simply knowing "that God knows" because the words won't come out.

But, with two red-letter days back to back, I now understand that "hardest to pray" can also mean when God has so blown us away with His presence that we truly don't know what to say except, "Wow, Abba Father.  Thank you!!!"  It can also mean whether I am praying for myself or praying for others, in good times or in painful times.

The scripture above from Paul in his letter to Philippians helps me to understand the concept of "hardest to pray." He says that, despite his trials, "I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.  I eagerly expect . . . that I will . . . have sufficient courage."  During a very low point for Paul, he said he would continue to rejoice and anticipate having sufficient courage, knowing that the prayers of others would carry him through and set him free.

What encouragement!!  We are promised, through prayer, to be able to rejoice, be delivered, be courageous, and be set free.  God answers prayer yesterday, today and tomorrow.  And, He's still answering prayer, even then we don't know exactly for what we're praying.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a Beth Moore conference via simulcast at our church.  I've been blessed to see her in person before, and I knew God would speak to me.   As I was getting ready to leave, I prayed a soft, short prayer that I wouldn't miss what God wanted me to learn.  I also prayed that God would confirm my calling to ministry to encourage others like me who are caring for loved ones with Alzheimers.  Working full-time, caring for mom, and not forsaking either my time with the Lord or my family, embarking on a full-scale ministry including writing and speaking is at times rather daunting to me.

A number of years ago, I believed that God wanted me to speak at local churches, sharing my testimony, and sharing messages specific to the church's needs.  Doubting my calling, while I was driving to the post office to mail out promotional materials, I was also listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio, preaching about the prophet Amos who being called to ministry.  As I was literally driving and praying, "Lord, please let me know if this is really what you want me to do," I heard Chuck Swindoll SCREAMING over the airwaves to "GO.  SPEAK!!!!"  That little prayer, a tough one for me to pray, brought BIG results.  Long story short, I went on to speak at about a dozen churches, including a message I called "Grace is Greener on God's Side."

I take very seriously a prayer for confirmation!

So, yesterday, asking God again to "confirm" and to make sure I don't miss His calling, left me with much anticipation.

The conference was absolutely amazing, filled with laughter, tears, lessons, and time with God.  VERY special.  Beth talked about a person's calling.  I sat up in attention.  "Lord, are you speaking to me NOW?"

Nope.  Not yet.  It was an all-day conference.  

At the end, we were to pair up with another woman, hold hands, and repeat empowerment phrases that Beth told us to say to each other, confirming the six points she made in the conference.  A sweet woman named Bonnie and I were paired up.  The VERY final one was the "God moment."  She had us say to each other, something like "be brave and find your calling."  We said it to each other; my heart started welling up.  Beth then FERVENTLY said, "NOW GO!!!!"  Bonnie and I hugged; no words could come out through the gush of tears streaming down my face.  God commissioned me, right there at the conference.  I couldn't pray; I could only cry.  But, God knew.  

God had led me to pray in the morning with anticipation for deliverance to pursue my calling, and He had now spoken loudly into my soul.  Beth Moore has been a mentor and inspiration for 20 years; I co-taught several of her Bible studies at a former church.  While we never met, God grew my faith through her ministry.  So, to be "commissioned" at one of her conferences was no surprise.

Red-letter banner day number one was now complete.  One down, one to go!

Today, our senior pastor fell ill, asking our senior adult pastor to preach in his place about 40 minutes prior to the start of the service.   Pastor Kevin spoke from Mark 10:46-52, a story about Jesus healing Bartimaeus.  

Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jericho.  Bartimaeus, a blind man, called out twice, "Have mercy on me!"  Jesus told his disciples, "Call him."  They went to Bartimaeus and said, "On your feet!  He's calling you."  Jesus then asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Bartimaeus said, "Rabbi, I want to see."  Jesus said, "GO!"

In two days, I called out twice for God to reveal His will for me (i.e. have mercy on me).  Jesus was calling me.  I said that I wanted to see His will.  Jesus said, "GO!"

So, even today's sermon was filled with God's confirmation.  The littlest of prayers with the biggest of results.  

Then, Pastor Kevin discussed how God gives us transforming moments.  We can either pause and reflect, or we can go about our day and miss them.  

Two days of transforming moments.  Answers to small prayers.  Praising with big prayers, but feeling that my words were far too small for God.  When it's hardest to pray, pray the hardest.  I can rejoice.  My fears have been delivered.  I can be courageous to go forward.  He has set me free.

God transforms.  He cares about the details of our lives. 

And, sometimes, He just says "GO!"

©2015 Regifted Grace Ministry LLC