Are You Thoroughly Equipped to Do All God Has Asked You to Do?

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The Best Tool is Already at Your Disposal

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Some time ago I felt God calling me to a deeper concern about others.  However, I was too intimidated to speak with others who I knew were struggling with some aspect of their lives. I didn’t feel I had anything important or relevant to say.  But when I began spending more time in God’s Word and seriously studying it, God began guiding me, bringing to my mind pertinent scriptures whenever I had the opportunity to encourage someone who was struggling.  By being in the Word, God prepared me to love and encourage other people.

The apostle Paul explained to Timothy, his son in the faith, that scripture is given to us that we may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17.) It is a tool that prepares us in every way to do every good thing God wants us to do. We have this very effective tool at our disposal. So, we are fully equipped to do all God asks us to do if we actively use it.

Praise, Prayer and Thanksgiving

Scripture prepares us for every good thing God wants us to do; in other words, for doing God’s will. We can apply 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to something that is clearly God’s will for each of us.

As examples, the apostle Paul instructs the church in Thessalonica to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in the midst of everything (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Why are these things important? Because doing these things is the will of God for each of us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). While we often search for God’s will, begging and pleading that God will make His will clear to us, right here are three verses that clearly express His will. He wants us to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything.

Do you sometimes have difficulty rejoicing and praising God, praying for a significant period of time, or giving thanks in all situations? If we apply 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to this part of God’s will for our lives, we need only be in God’s Word in order to overcome such difficulty. Just spend time in His Word.

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Many churches have pre-service prayer or regular prayer hours. If you find it difficult to pray for an hour during these times, then go to these prayer sessions and spend time in God’s Word.  By doing so, God will equip you to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks.  Over time, you will find yourself spending more time doing these things than reading His Word during prayer hours.  Eventually, you will be able to fill an entire hour with prayer without spending that time reading the Word.  This doesn’t mean abandon reading God’s Word.  It only means that by being in God’s Word, God equips us to pray the way God wants us to.  We can still spend time in His Word at other times or when He leads us to scripture during these prayer times.

Working in the Harvest

2 Timothy 3:16-17 applies to all aspects of our lives.  Whatever is God’s will for each of us, He will equip us to do if we spend time in His Word.

Jesus clearly spoke God’s will for all of us in Matthew 28:19-20. He instructed His disciples – as Christians we are His disciples – to go into the world, teaching, baptizing, and doing all things He commanded us to do.

Galatians 5:14 summarizes all of the law by stating, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.” And 1 John 4:21 commands “that he who loveth God love his brother also.” By viewing these verses along with Matthew 28:19-20, we learn the purpose of going into the world, teaching, and baptizing is to show love.

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Some Christians refer to going into the world as “working in the harvest” based on Matthew 9:37 through 10:1, where Jesus first told the disciples to pray that the Lord would send laborers into the harvest and gave them power to do what was needed in the harvest. He gave them power “against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” (Matthew 10:1.) He then sent His disciples with specific instructions to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils (Matthew 10:5-8).

This is another example, and possibly one that hits closer to our insecurities, where the scripture is clear about His will in our lives. By coupling it with 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we can be confident that through His Word, God will equip us to do these things.  We need not be intimidated to do God’s will:

• Telling others that the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
• Healing the sick;
• Casting out devils; and even
• Raising the dead.

If we are intimidated, and even doubtful that we can do these things, then all we need to do is spend time in God’s Word, allowing it to equip us to do the things God has called us to do.

In and Out of Our Comfort Zone

I am confident that most Christians are pretty comfortable applying 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (God’s Word equipping us to do the good things God has called us to do) to God’s will that we rejoice, pray, and give thanks as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. 

I am also pretty confident that most of us become very uncomfortable when we begin talking about God’s will for us is that we preach that the kingdom is at hand, heal the sick, cast out devils, and raise the dead.  But if we can believe that God’s Word equips us to rejoice, pray, and give thanks in all circumstances, then we can also believe that God’s Word equips us to share His Word, heal the sick, cast out devils, and raise the dead.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true as applied to all good things God calls us to do. 

We can apply 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to everything we read in the Word to be God’s will for us and everything we feel Him calling us to do. We can be confident that God will equip us to do those things because they are His will.

According to Matthew 7:15-20, each of us is called to bear fruit through our work in the harvest.  If we bear evil fruit, we are corrupt, and not living according to God’s plan.  If we bear no fruit, then we will be cut out of the harvest.  But if we are living according to God’s will in our lives, praying, rejoicing and giving thanks as well as working in the harvest, sharing the promises by preaching, teaching, healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead, then we will see good fruit brought forth in our lives.  How do we ensure we are bearing good fruit?  By being in God’s Word and allowing it to equip us to boldly do these things according to God’s will in our lives.

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