Remember being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I do.
I also remember fluctuating from wanting to be a cowboy, to an army ranger, to anything else that came to my mind. Then high school came. By this time, I knew what God had called me to do, but I still struggled with how to fulfill God’s calling on my life. My guidance counselor met with all of us and helped us prepare to graduate and head to college to fulfill our dreams. She did what she could to empower us to realize our dreams.
Each of us has spiritual desires too. We want to be better prayer warriors, more diligent students of the Word, better spouses, more caring parents, or respectful and not rebellious teens. Each of these and more represent what we want to become as we continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Well, today is your blessed day. I know the answer to you fulfilling your dream and becoming what you desire: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”[1]
The Holy Spirit is the power source that we plug into and this power source enables us to become witnesses for Him in all the earth. Think about it: as you fulfill God’s purpose in your life, you wind up fulfilling your dream. We are to pray, “Not my will but yours be done Lord[2]” and when we sincerely pray that prayer, God will empower us to become what He desires for us! Go ahead: plug into the true Power Source today. He’s never had a power outage or a power shortage. He gives you power to become!
But some of you are thinking, that’s all well and good, but what about specifics? If you’re called to preach, you may be wondering how to answer that call. Do you evangelize? Do you start a church? Do you become a youth pastor for five years? Should you go to a Bible college or a community college? These questions and more rage in our minds, but fulfilling the will of God – becoming what He desires for us – is as simple as fulfilling His will daily. I know, we don’t want it to be that easy, but it is.
Go ahead and search out some Scriptures that explain what the will of God is and if you’ll do those things – you’ll become all that God wants you to be. Is it the will of God for any to perish? NO! Rather, it’s His will that all would come to repentance.[3] So, who are you influencing with the Gospel? Why wait until you get to a city you are called to? Start reaching people where you are. In fact, if you cannot or won’t reach people now, what makes you think you will reach them then? Power to become is not just about the “tomorrows” in our lives.
Is it really this easy? I think so. After all, unless the Lord builds the house the laborers work in vain.[4] If it’s really God’s will for you to build a new building, don’t you think He will work out all the details to His perfect will? Even if that includes what appears to be obstacles in your way. Maybe God allowed them to show His power against the political leadership of your city.
Power to become boils down to becoming what God wants from you daily! If you’ll live for Him each day, He’ll open doors that no one can shut[5], He’ll build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it[6], and He’ll add to the church daily![7]
[1] Acts 1:8 (English Standard Version)
[2] Luke 22:42
[3] 2 Peter 3:9
[4] Psalm 127:1
[5] Revelation 3:8
[6] Matthew 16:18
[7] Acts 2:47
