Needing Equipped

Read Hebrews 13:20-21

When you are preparing to tackle a project, it is important to make sure you gather all necessary items before you begin the work. If you are making a food dish, you need to make sure you have all of the ingredients. In addition to having the ingredients, you also need to have the utensils and cookware which will allow you to prepare and cook whatwer dish you are making. If your project is a household repair or addition, having the necessary materials and tools is required. Completing a project demands a person to be properly equipped.

As the letter to the Hebrews is coming to a conclusion, the author lifts a brief prayer. The petition, or hope, is that God would equip the believers. The task set forth is doing God’s will, not an easy task for any human. The letter writer knows that the only way the believers might be successful in doing God’s will is if God gives them the necessary items to accomplish the task. Humanity has proven time and again a lack of being properly equipped.

A favorite quote of mine is by Rick Yancey who wrote in The Fifth Wave, “God doesn’t call the equipped, son. God equips the called. And you have been called.” This quote applies to all who strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Anyone who has accepted the mantle of ordained ministry quickly becomes aware of all their inadequacies and being ill-equipped for such a calling. But all who strive to follow Christ’s example and teachings have the same experience of feeling ill-equipped. Throughout all of Scripture we witness great leaders, teachers, prophets and apostles voice their apprehensions in regard to adequately fulfilling God’s will. This reality should drive us to God in prayer; seeking the equipping only God can provide.