From Ordinary to Extraordinary
St. Augustine’s Gospel Choir – the choir I am honored to be an original member of – recorded a song by Leon C. Roberts entitled, “Look What God Can Do”. The next line of the song is, “when you give your life to Him.”
We read all throughout scripture examples of how God uses those “least likely to succeed” to accomplish things seemingly unimaginable by them or anyone else. God uses ordinary people to do the unexpected and unlikely, extraordinary things. I am often struck by, and happy about, how Jesus didn’t select His disciples from the high and mighty Sadducees, or Pharisees, or the respected, learned Who’s Who of the Day. He chose completely ordinary people who were willing and open to do as he commanded. They were not learned, nor had they arrived at any station of success in their craft, but they were people who were open to His calling and left their ways to follow His.
When you’re looking at your situation and you’re measuring yourself with the world’s yardstick of success, it could be a tough decision to drop it all and follow Him. But God, as we know, doesn’t measure success by our yardstick, nor does He ask our advice about whether we think we’re up for a task. He chooses the downtrodden, overlooked, and often the least respected – those who have experienced the trials of life – to change the world.
The one thing that all the men and women of God had in common was that they acted on the call of God, and that act took them from ordinary to extraordinary. It was their propensity not to judge by the appearance (John 7:24) and willingness to step out in faith to respond to His call. They took God at His word, no matter how it looked. It has been said that God does not call the equipped, but He equips those who He calls.
I remember when God called me to open up The Pathfinder Project, Inc. He gave me the vision of a place where kids and families could come for individual therapy, family therapy, psychological and educational evaluation, mentoring, rites of passage, tutoring, anger management, adolescent groups for girls (called Ladies in Transition_, and parent support group (called Parenting, It’s No Joke). Many people thought I was crazy to attempt such a large undertaking, and some naysayers even predicted that it would fail. I had very little money, and the bank turned me down for a loan even though I had saved $10,000 in their bank and I was only requesting $20,000. But when God calls you to do something, He makes a way from what appears to be no way. He parts our Red Seas so that we can walk through on dry land. Man’s “No” can suddenly become God’s “Watch this.” As a girlfriend of mine used to say, “Where He leads, He feeds.”
For 18 years, God led and fed The Pathfinder Project and all of its activities one day at a time. In that time, we served hundreds of kids, adolescents, families, and troubled individuals who God guided back to the right path through those called to serve there. Just like He cared for the Israelites in the wilderness, He cared for us, and He will care for you. He is not a respecter of persons.
Is God calling you to do that which seems to be impossible? Guess what? He specializes in seemingly impossible causes and the Bible tells us that “ALL THINGS are possible with God” (Matthew 19:26).
I encourage you to step out in faith and be amazed at what God can do when you give your life to Him.
Peace and Blessings,
Gail
P.S. Happy Mother’s Day and congratulations to the St. Augustine’s Gospel Choir for 40 years of witnessing to what God can do when you have faith and give your life to Him!