God Equips the Called
God never calls without equipping. And, He reminds us that we are not alone, but equipped by the Holy Spirit.
We hear much today about empowering. Whole industries have sprung up to empower people in all areas of their lives. The Holy Spirit will empower us to do the tasks that we have no power to do alone. He comes to help those who are helpless. He comes to strengthen and inspire. In other words, He is in your life in order to anoint you for your appointed task—the task He assigned to you before you were you to know!
God never calls without equipping. Someone has said, “God doesn’t call the equipped but He equips the called.” As far as I can see, “anointing” means that you are in the midst of duty, somewhere in the depths of your being comes a great shout of “God confidence”—an “I can do this” sound. “This is possible,” you realize, where before it looked impossible. In fact, God is a God of the possible, and being anointed means living in the good of the possibilities of God! We receive this anointing and empowerment from the Holy Spirit.
For me this empowering often comes when I need words that work—words that convince, convict, or convert the people to whom I am talking. Words are necessary in the calling He has given me, and I have experienced this equipping by the Holy Spirit over and over again. It is as if words that struggle to get off the ground take flight and arrive at their destination. It is perfectly all right for me to bank on Him to give wings to my words. Whether I am struggling to find a word of encouragement for a single parent, a word of comfort for a bereaved husband, or words for a talk for students, women, a congregation, or a conference, I pray with confidence:
Give my words wings, Lord.
May they alight gently on the branches of men’s minds,
Bending them to the winds of Your will.
May they fly high enough to touch the lofty,
Low enough to bring the breath of sweet encouragement
Upon the downcast soul.
Give my words wings, Lord.
May they fly swift and far,
Winning the race with the words of the worldly wise,
To the hearts of men.
Give my words wings, Lord.
See them now,
Nesting—
Down at thy feet.
Silenced into ecstasy,
Home at last.
God’s work in your hands cannot be done without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But you can bank on Him to do it. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have the anointing. Remember what 1 John 2:20 says: “You have the anointing from the Holy One.” Just make sure there is no sin in your life. Trust in His promise that you have the anointing—and then go for it!
God appoints you to a task that He anoints you to perform. Then He assists you with the special tools that you will need. Praying you’ll go for it in the power of the Spirit!