Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Sometimes I hear people say, “That job is not in my gifting. I only want to give in this one area of strength.” This can be a shallow and weak view of the power of God, in my opinion. It fails to recognize God promises to give us “everything good” for doing his will.

Do I want the God of peace on my side, and his peace in my life?

This God of Peace raised Jesus from the dead after he suffered and died following God’s will. Some saw his death as a defeat. But Jesus saw it as following God’s will. I think one of the points here is that we really need to trust God, that he will equip us to do his will, even if we personally think we are ill-equipped.

When we are prompted by the Holy Spirit in our hearts to help or serve someone in need, we have a choice: A) jump in and help, and serve them however we can, trusting that God will provide the rest, or B) classify the task as outside of our skillset.

Does this sound unfair or harsh? Some might say that. But I say it is the only reasonable and right response to an all-powerful God who calls us to serve.

The passage says, “May he work in us what is pleasing to him.” And I notice that God is not always as concerned about the end result or how things appear as we serve; instead he is after transforming our hearts. So we should be less concerned if we are always perfectly qualified to serve, and more concerned with pleasing God with our efforts, qualified or unqualified by our human standards.

Here is an example: I am one of the least handy men I know. I don't think mechanically very well at all. But I still help out on “fixer upper” projects. I just volunteer as grunt labor. Why? There is fellowship in serving, there is joy in serving, and I bring others with me who need to serve and are good at mechanical things.

Lord, thank you for this passage that teaches us to jump in and serve and replace our questions about our own ability, with confidence in you. May I please you with my heart first, and serve as I am called to in the Bible, and as you prompt me to. Then, I can be amazed to see how you show up and steal the show!