Answer the Phone!

Hey! Answer your phone! No, not your cell phone. No, not your land line either, if you even still have one of those. You need to answer your spiritual phone.

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You have a calling on your life. You have a purpose. Your age does not matter. Your physical abilities do not matter. All that matters is your salvation. You’ve been saved? And you are still breathing? Then you most definitely have a calling. You have a ministry. Oh yes, you do! Yet, you still think God can’t use you?

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” ~Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

Before you were even thought of, God was programming you for some sort of ministry. You have it in you already. All you have to do is use it! Sure, I used to think that God couldn’t use me. I mean, I didn’t have a huge testimony. There was not any “lightning bolt” type of crash and the Hallelujah Chorus start playing. Mine was subtle. But it was there nonetheless. So is yours.

My ministry came after a 30-some-odd-year hiatus. The reason for the lapse is because I was literally consumed in a well of intimidation so deep that I didn’t even recognize it. But thank God that someone else did! That Someone was Jesus, and He sent others to help rescue me out of the pit of darkness that held me frozen in intimidation.

When God healed me of that, I could hear the spiritual phone inside me ringing. I answered it and you are now reading my ministry. My passion is writing. God places in my heart a desire to write my experiences; to write something so unique that people read it and go, “Yeah! I get that! It sounds like my life, too! Wow, I’m not the only one!” But don’t misunderstand; I don’t do this to impress you. I do this to serve God. HE is the One who is speaking to you… through me.

pic ©123rf.com / text ©shelleywilburn.org

What is He saying to you? What is it that burns within you? What are you passionate about? Let me encourage you today…if you have been saved then you are most definitely called to minister in some way, shape, or form. Maybe not behind a pulpit. Maybe not oversees as a missionary. But you are definitely called!

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge… ~1 Corinthians 12:7-8 NLT (also see verses 9-11)

You have a very special gift. God wants you to use it to help someone, or several someones. Mine is right here, giving encouragement to those of you who are suffering intimidation, oppression, depression, and whatever else it is that keeps you tied down.

It’s time to answer the phone. Why not pick up and ask God what it is that He wants you to do?

Shelley Wilburn

Shelley Wilburn has been writing since the age of twelve. She loves stories and adventures, and often finds herself getting into mischief with any one of her six grandchildren. She has written several articles and devotionals over the years for various newspapers, women's magazines, and newsletters. She has also co-authored devotionals. Shelley began writing full-time in 2012 after being healed of over 40 years of depression and anxiety. Using her love of writing, and wearing mismatched socks, Shelley has developed a unique ministry of encouraging others using biblical truths and stories from her own personal life. When not writing, you can find Shelley and her husband of over 30 years, D.A. zipping down the road in their newest adventure-maker, a bright orange, Mustang convertible Shelley has laughingly dubbed The Pony.