I have to confess that I am an over-packer. I can go somewhere overnight and still have bags full of things I might need. I am working on being a better packer, but there is a reason behind my tendency to overpack: I want to feel prepared. Maybe you can relate. Feeling unprepared is never fun. We have been talking this week about the truth that God has called each of us to make Him known, but this calling may have many of us feeling unprepared or unequipped to answer this call. If you can relate to this feeling, I have good news for you today. If God has called you, and He has, He will also equip you with everything you need.
The writer of Hebrews wrote about the truth that God equips His people in Hebrews 13. As he finished writing his letter, he wrote this prayer: "Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood—may He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him" (verse 21). This was an incredible prayer. The writer of Hebrews knew that God does not just call us to do things that are impossible for us to do on our own and leave us. He also gives us what we need so that we can do the things He has asked us to do. The writer of Hebrews knew this, which is why he prayed this for his readers.
We know God equips us when He calls us. Scripture tells us this and gives us evidence of unqualified people who God equipped to do big things for Him. Will you believe this truth? The question we have to answer today is, "What would we do that God has asked us to do if we knew that He would equip us with everything we need?"
Take some time to answer the question above. What would you do that God has asked you to do if you knew that God would equip you with everything you need? First, write down your answer to this question in your journal or notebook. Then write out Hebrews 13:20 down. Let this verse remind you that God will equip you to do what He has called you to do and commit to taking a step toward obedience today.
"Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.
10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
18 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. 19 And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.
20 Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
22 I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the believers there. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.
25 May God’s grace be with you all."
