Who Me, Lord?

When God calls, our first response is often, "Who me, Lord?" We feel unqualified, afraid, and unsure. But God's pattern throughout Scripture is to choose the least likely people and do the most extraordinary things through them.

Here are ten guidelines I have learned about stepping out by faith when God calls.

1. God Will Choose the Least to Do the Most

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). If you feel unqualified, you are exactly the kind of person God loves to use.

2. Trust God's Leading Through the Word, Not Simply Your Own Ideas

"What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). God reveals His will through His Word and His Spirit. Do not lean on your own understanding. Let Scripture shape your direction.

3. Be Ready for Change

Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised (Hebrews 10:35-39). When God calls, things change. Be willing to let them.

4. Recognize Your "Godly Discontentment" or Passion

God often places a holy discontentment in our hearts, a burden that will not go away. Pay attention to it. It may be the seed of His calling.

5. Be Willing to Wait for God's Timing

Between the promise and the provision, there is often a long season of waiting. Do not run ahead. Do not give up. Wait on the Lord.

6. Listen to Wise Counselors

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you" (Acts 18:9-10). God often confirms His direction through trusted, godly counselors. Seek them. Listen to them.

7. Risk Is Required

Faith means stepping into the unknown. Joseph was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and forgotten in prison before God elevated him to save a nation (Genesis 37, 39-41). Following God's call will require risk.

8. Fear, Doubt and Conflict Are to Be Expected

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail (Luke 22:31-34). When you step out in faith, the enemy will oppose you. Do not be surprised by fear, doubt, or conflict. Expect them. Stand firm.

9. God Will Train and Prepare You in Unexpected Ways

Moses' mother hid him for three months and then placed him in a basket on the Nile (Exodus 2:1-10). God used a pagan princess to raise the deliverer of His people. God's training methods are rarely what we expect.

10. You Will Eventually Be Required to Let Go

Jehoshaphat stood before the people and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld" (2 Chronicles 20). There comes a moment in every calling when you must let go of the thing God gave you and trust it back into His hands.