God’s call to be a Teaching Leader was so clear. Yet just three weeks into the new role, I was questioning my abilities with a trusted friend. I hoped she would say, “Hollie, you are doing just fine.” Instead she said, “That is not yours to judge. You are simply asked to be faithful to God’s call and trust that He will work in you and through you.” I was stunned, yet I needed the clarity and honesty of her words.
I will never forget the freedom of confessing, “Lord, I know that I am not enough, but You are.” That simple prayer gave me the courage to trust Almighty God in my weakness. To this day, I echo those words often.
When we surrender our lives to Christ, we commit to go where He leads and act as He directs. But sometimes God’s call can feel overwhelming. Is He really asking me to surrender my comfort? Does He honestly expect me to sacrifice my time, money, or relationships? God’s call on our lives often strains the limits of our faith and our abilities.
We are challenged to ask, “How far will I go? Am I willing to let God disrupt my ordinary life to pursue His extraordinary purpose?”
As we consider these difficult questions, we find hope and courage in the lives of the Old Testament prophets.
How far will I go? Am I willing to let God disrupt my ordinary life to pursue His extraordinary purpose?
They found hope in God’s character
Through men like Elijah, Hosea, Isaiah, and their contemporaries, we discover that God gave these faithful servants a humanly impossible task —to preach repentance to a people who refused to repent.
How did these men find hope in a season that seemed hopeless?
They relied on God’s character instead of their own.
In choosing Isaiah, God asked him to leave a life of prosperity and influence to embrace the call to preach and, in turn, to suffer. In Isaiah 6, when God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responded, “Here am I. Send me!” When Isaiah asked, “For how long, Lord?” God responded, “… until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.”
From a worldly perspective, Isaiah’s ministry was impossible. But Isaiah’s hope stretched beyond his circumstances. He trusted God’s Word because He knew God’s character. God said, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4). And Isaiah believed.
Though the Israelites did not repent, God used Isaiah’s work to strengthen and encourage His people for generations. Thousands of years later, God is still using the book of Isaiah to change the hearts and minds of those who read it.
God does not call His people to empty work, even when we struggle to understand His purpose.
God does not call His people to empty work, even when we struggle to understand His purpose. When we face a seemingly impossible task, God simply asks us to respond in faith, “Here am I. Send me!”
When we cling to God’s character, He offers hope. He promises to sustain and carry His people.
They found courage in God’s Word
Several years into my role as a Teaching Leader, I experienced an incredibly difficult year. It was one of those seasons when life seemed to unravel one thread at a time. I thought, “If God’s call is going to be this difficult, I want out.” Like Elijah in 1 Kings 19:4, I prayed, “I have had enough, Lord.”
In Elijah’s desperation, God spoke with a whisper, and Elijah found courage in the Word of the Lord. When God spoke to Elijah, He revealed a plan that stretched beyond Elijah’s circumstances—a plan to inspire a new generation of prophets. Elijah’s mission did not change. He was still hunted and despised. He was still called to preach to a rebellious nation. But Elijah’s perspective changed—as He trusted God’s Word to sustain him.
Through the prophets, we see this again and again. When Jeremiah said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young,” God responded, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you” (Jeremiah 1:6, 8). God faithfully established Jeremiah’s confidence.
We find that God's call still stretches the limits of our faith.
Maybe you can relate. During that difficult season years ago, I turned to God’s Word for comfort. Through Scripture, God gave me even more—I found courage. Through those painful circumstances, God prepared me to serve in a role I never expected—as BSF’s Executive Director. Once again, God affirmed that He never wastes our struggles.
As we look forward to our study of John, we find that God’s call still stretches the limits of our faith. But the words of Jesus give us hope and courage: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
With your BSF group this year, you have studied God’s character through the words and lives of His prophets. Where have you found hope? Where do you need courage? I pray that together we will be people who faithfully respond to God’s call. A people who say, “Here am I. Send me!”