God will use the most unlikely, weak, ordinary candidates to do His greatest works.
Women's Community Bible Study -
Have you ever agreed to a position of Christian leadership, and afterward wondered how you got yourself into such a commitment? In the seventh segment of an eight-part series on knowing God’s will, teacher and Bible commentator Nancy McGuirk offers encouragement and advice for women who struggle with the fear of “messing things up.” She explains that when we step out in obedience to God, we begin to see His mighty power at work in spite of our doubts and weaknesses.
The summer before I began teaching the 14 ladies of our original women’s Bible study in Atlanta, I went into a panic. How was I actually going to do this? Why had I ever agreed to do it in the first place? How did I get myself in this situation? I was on my knees, crying, “Lord, I can’t do it.” (I was reminded of the response Moses gave God when God asked him to free His people—“Who, me?”) After struggling with my doubts and fears for some time, I finally confessed, “Lord, I’m afraid I will mess this up. You have to do it.” At that moment, I felt as if God said to me, “Finally, Nancy. I’ve been waiting for you to tell Me that.”
By giving this situation up to God, I was able to witness God’s mighty working as He did what only He can do. In that first fledgling Bible study, God taught those women and He taught me as well. Two years after that, God brought another 85 women to join us. Then two years later we were 150 strong. Today we have over 400 women meeting together each week to study God’s life-changing Word.
God will use the most unlikely, weak, ordinary candidates to do His greatest works. For when we are weak, He is strong. We must simply place our wholehearted faith and trust in Him. When we walk by faith we may not know where we are going, but we know and love the One who is leading. Furthermore, our faith assures us that God will never lead us where His grace cannot keep us. We exercise our faith not merely by believing that God can, but by knowing that God will. Only after we step out in obedience to Him, do we really begin to experience God fully in our lives. It is then that we see His mighty power at work.
Sometimes God allows us to go through unexpected storms in our lives when it seems as though He is nowhere to be found. Yet I have watched God transform the lives of people who trusted Him in the face of unexpected circumstances. I have often witnessed this kind of transformation during the past several years that I have been a part of this Bible Study group.
I’d like to tell you about one such person. Her name was Marcia. She was attractive, capable, a successful businesswoman and the mother of four children. Marcia was one of those women who seemed to have it all. When she first came to our Bible study she was very skeptical of us all. Self-sufficient and going through a divorce, Marcia questioned our dependence on Scripture as our highest authority for truth. Then she was diagnosed with cancer.
What at first seemed to be an insurmountable blow to her life proved to be a blessing as time went on. For in receiving this terrifying news, Marcia began earnestly to search for God. She endured medical treatment for the next couple of years and many of her friends began to share her hope for a miracle healing of the cancer that was slowly consuming her body. Instead, we were privileged to witness a glorious spiritual transformation in Marcia’s life.
(See below for other related articles in this series.)
Nancy McGuirk - Bible commentator, small group facilitator, and intercessor - is the founder and director of the Women's Community Bible Study International. Nancy ministers to thousands of people each week in person and through a video and audio tape ministry. The focus of her work is evangelism, discipleship and intercessory prayer. For more articles by Nancy McGuirk, go to her website at Women’s Community Bible Study a Christianity.com ministry partner.
