“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." EPHESIANS 4:1-4, NKJV

He Says I Am... Called & Qualified

Missionary Elisabeth Elliot said of Christian service, "When you don't know what to do next, just do the thing in front of you." We spend a vast majority of our time trying to discover what we are supposed to do for God. "What is my calling?" we wonder. Remember, it is God, the Caller and Qualifier, that brings the opportunities He desires into your life. If God wants you to serve Him in a certain way, why would He keep it hidden from you? Instead, as we draw nearer to God and learn to walk trusting His leading; He will lead each of us to the thing we are called to do! Some of us will get a divine call to preach the word or serve on a mission field, but no less divine is the call to teach preschoolers or own a respectable business. Empowered Woman, God calls you, blesses you, equips you and presents you with Holy Spirit-inspired confirmation as you walk with Him. Whatever He has called you to, He has made sure you can do!

Paul explains in Ephesians 4:1 that God first draws us near and then He presents us with opportunities to serve. He begs us to 'walk worthy' of the calling. That phrase suggests we should live giving equal weight or value to both the work of Christ in us and our work for Christ. That makes me think of an old-fashioned scale in perfect balance.

Walking worthy of your calling isn't something you do in your own strength and ability; it is recognizing that God has given you everything you need to live the life He has planned for vou. You have ENOUGH for His mission. Ephesians chapters 1-3 explains what Christ has done for us, chapters 4-6 explain what we should do for Christ. When we live knowing our Father paid our ransom with the life of Jesus and He blesses our life in every way imaginable, then we impact our world. Our ministries, our families and every other relationship becomes the recipient of the riches of Christ's glory- OUR CALLING.

Ray Stedman once wrote "a walk, of course, merely consists of two simple steps repeated over and over again." For the believer, those two simple steps are "hearing" and "obeying" the word of God. Jesus taught in Matthew 7, a man who heard and obeyed the word was wise and built a life to outlast storms. If we want to be women who do what God has told us to do, we have to start with the Bible. Your first calling is to be in the written word of God. Only then will you be able to effectively serve in the things He brings you to.

Further Reading: Ephesians 4:11-16, 5:1-20; 1 Peter 4:10

If you would like to be able to do a complete study of Chapter Eight, order a copy of Enough by contacting Empowered Women's Ministry at empoweredwomen@pcg.org or 817.554.5900 ext. 371. Available also at pcg.org/resources or Amazon.