Ready...Or Not

We have a teenage daughter. Many times, when our family is preparing to go somewhere, she is finishing up her hair and makeup. When I ask if she is ready to go, she says, “Yes, all I have to do is get dressed.” 

I tease her because “being ready” in my mind means walking out the door to the car.  But the bottom line is, if you aren’t dressed, then you’re not ready. Being “almost ready” is the exact same thing as “not ready”. We can joke about this in our family because it’s just the season we are in with our three kids.

Being “almost ready” is the exact same thing as “not ready”.

But I wonder if it’s funny to Jesus when He asks us to go where He needs us to go, and we have our list of things that we have to do before we can follow Him. Surely, Jesus would give a lot of grace for all the things, right? I mean, come on, we have a lot of responsibilities to handle here.

My husband personally knows a man who turned down several key opportunities for fruitful ministry work after he graduated from college in his 20’s. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to serve Jesus. He truly did. He has a strong calling on his life and a desire to be in full-time ministry work. But he wanted to get his business off the ground first so that his ministry could be funded before he stepped out. He had a 10-year plan to get residual revenue coming in so that he could go into ministry after that. That sure seemed like a noble cause.  But he is in his late 40’s now, with a booming business, and he’s still not in ministry to this day.  He expresses regret about this and dissatisfaction with his life when he meets my husband for coffee, but says his business still has not hit the number that he had planned out.

Let’s look at another man in Luke 9:59 when Jesus called him into Kingdom service.

“Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Look at Jesus’ reply.

“Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Wow, Jesus didn’t respond with a whole lot of compassion there. He just brought it back around to the assignment. See, this guy had some things out of order, like many of us do. In Matthew, Jesus makes it clear, “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God, and all these things (daily needs and wants) will be added to you.

If we are seeking to check off our list, instead of seeking Him first, then we’ve got it backwards.

So, this guy was loved by Jesus and had the call of God on his life, but he didn’t get used. Why? Because he wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready to go when Jesus gave him the opportunity. It wasn’t that he was telling Jesus “No”. There was just something else to do first. And it’s that “first” part that will trip us up. If there’s something to do first, before you can obey Him, then you are not ready…you are not prepared. And you forfeit your opportunity to be used.

So, this guy was loved by Jesus and had the call of God on his life, but he didn’t get used. Why? Because he wasn’t ready.

“Jesus, let me first raise these kids.”

Then it’s…

 “Let me first get these kids through college.”

“Let me first make enough money.”

“Let me first build this business.”

Let’s stop right here: I’m not saying to just leave the responsibility of taking care of your family and raising your kids. Not at all! If you know anything about us, we are a ministry focused on raising healthy families and building strong marriages. But we are talking about a heart issue here. What’s FIRST in your heart? Because if you are seeking Him first, then you can trust that He’s got your back regarding raising your kids, building a strong family, and blessing your marriage and finances. He is a faithful and good Father.

But if we are saying, “let me first…” then we are not fit or useful to Him. He loves us, He called us, but He can’t use us. Jesus said, “No one who starts plowing and looks back (to the things left behind) is fit (useful) for the kingdom of God.” If you know anything about living for Jesus, it’s not about “me” first but it’s about “kingdom first” always and at all times. And there is a purpose for this:

Check out Romans 8:19: “For all creation…is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God.”

The whole world is waiting for what is inside of you. You carry the answer they need—you carry JESUS to a lost and dying world. When I get to the end of our race, I don’t want to look into Jesus’ eyes, and try to explain why I never even ran…because I had things to do first. I don’t want to have to explain why I didn’t reach the people I was assigned to reach…people who never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, because I was supposed to tell them. My husband has a message called, “All God wants is your YES.” Your YES matters to God. That YES makes me fit and useful to God. Once I give it, that “yes” will propel me into a place of purpose in Him beyond what I ‘ve ever dreamed.

The whole world is waiting for what is inside of you.

Here’s the great news! You can stop right now and tell Jesus that you are whole-heartedly giving yourself and your life in service to Him--that you honor His calling on your life and that you will go and do and say whatever He wants you to. Set Him in first place and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to prioritize everything else behind Him. Oh, this makes you now useful to His Kingdom!

No more procrastination. And no more regrets. Jesus Christ and His Kingdom are first place. An exciting life is ahead as you and I do our assignments and “go and proclaim the kingdom of God” to a lost world.

Carrie is passionate about seeing people’s lives changed by the power of God! A graduate of the University of Iowa and Rhema Bible College, her desire is to help people discover their God-given purpose.

Here is Carrie’s message everywhere she goes: “God has chosen each one of us since birth for a special assignment. It’s not by chance you are here. You were created on purpose with one mission — you are to be a carrier of the Glory of God to the places and people God has assigned for you to reach. And here’s the great part! God is ready to propel you from a seated position into a running position — directly into your destiny!”