...the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations...(Romans 4:17-18, NIV).

Have you ever wondered why certain men and women have been used by God in radical ways? Was there something special about how they've been gifted by God? Did they have an intimacy with God that you and I don't share? Did God just like them better than you and me?

When I read through the Word, I'm tempted to assume that there's something separating me from the great men and women of the faith. Yet as Genesis tells us, Abraham was far from perfect but still selected by God to be the founder of His people. Why? What did he "get" that you and I seem to miss?

As we read this portion of Paul's letter to the Roman church, we see that being used by God isn't really a question about who we are--but about who we believe God to be. Paul gives us a unique insight into who God is as he looks at God via the lens of Abraham's life. Through this lens we see that God is One who "calls things that are not as though they were." Regardless of what Abraham believed about himself or what others believed to be true about him, he could know that God saw all the tools needed to be a dynamic follower right then and there. God saw what Abraham couldn't see--God saw what HE could do in and through Abraham. Suddenly Abraham was enabled to lead well, serve well, be humble and be devoted to the things of God because God had and would call those things forth.

This same is true for you and me today. We can step out and lead a vibrant life in this world not because we are "ready" but because God calls forth those things which we don't see in ourselves right now. What are the things that "are not" in your life today? Are there issues of character or commitment? Are there hopes or dreams that you have not acted on because of feeling "ill-prepared?" Are there wounds that you aren't sure will ever be healed? If so, realize that right now God's calling those things (that seem out of your grasp) to be true about you today--He calls them "as though they were." This past tense usage implies that God not only calls forth this untapped gifting and potentiality in you right now but that He has been calling it forth for a long time.

You and I can't "fix" the deficits in our lives--that's God's job. Our job is first to believe that God can see something in us that we can't manufacture but is true because He enables it. Secondly, our job is to follow the example of Abraham who believed "against all hope." We are called to take a step of faith--to believe that God can use us, heal us, provide for us and restore us. Then we walk with God as He shows us the radical things that are true and possible about us because He dwells within us.

-Danny Orrick

And hope does not disappoint us...(Romans 5:5, NIV).