Before you can fulfill the work God has called you to, you first must become the kind of person God has called you to be.
I know. It’s easy to rush ahead and try to serve, to lead, to build, or fix things for God. But if we haven’t first grounded our identity in Him, our efforts will always be unfullfilling—and sometimes even dangerous.
Before Jesus ever healed the sick, preached the kingdom, or gave sight to the blind, he stood in the waters of baptism, where a voice came from heaven, saying: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). That declaration comes before Jesus has done anything publicly “useful.” Before any miracles. Before any sermons. His identity is rooted in the Father.
Our work flows out of that same identity. We serve because we are beloved children—not because it’s our obligation. But when we reverse that order, things fall apart. In Acts 19, for example, seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva tried to cast out demons “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” But they had no relationship with Christ. The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize—but who are you?” The men were then beaten, and they fled wounded and naked. It’s a telling picture of what happens when we try to do work with God’s authority apart from being rooted in God Himself.
And the same can happen to us—maybe not physically beaten up. But emotionally, spiritually, relationally crushed. Burnout. Bitterness. Cynicism. That’s what comes from trying to “do” without first learning to “be.”
Our first calling is not to productivity but to presence with God. Before God sends you out, he draws you in. Before He uses your hands, He wants your heart. Be before you do, beloved. There is no other way.
Maranatha,
Jordy
