You’ve Been Prepared
Read Time: 6 mins
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:12-17 NLT
I want to remind you that you were designed with influence in mind. You were crafted to be a light on a hill that impacts all of the dark places in your reach. You were designed to function best when intentionally impacting the world around you. Many of us don’t need a reminder. We get this. We understand that we are called to greatness. But while many of us understand the “what”, we often get confused on the “how”, “where” and “who” of our calling. How should we make use of our influence? What people or places should we shine our lights? We know we should make an impact but in what arena? In what capacity? What’s our target demographic? We are called to be a light and I believe studying biblical characters like Jesus can bring clarity to where that light should shine.
We've talked about how the Creator designs His creations based on their intended purpose. Their form is directly related to their intended function. This means that we can often study form to gain insights about the intended function. Historians and engineers use this knowledge to study the ruins of ancient cultures, and civilizations. They may study what is left of Egyptian or Mayan cultures and use the intelligent design they can see to deduce the intended purpose that they can't yet see. They look at how things were designed to discover how they were intended to operate, and I believe we can do the same with our lives. Our pasts can tell us about our purpose because our pasts directly impact our purpose. The talents, skills, desires, families, and experiences that God allows us to go through are direct indicators of what He intended for us to impact.
Let’s look at Jesus’ background. Jesus is from the lineage of King David. He is born into a family that has sympathy and understanding of the pressures and prestige that come with royalty. Jesus is also from the Levitical priestly line through His mother's side of the family because of His Uncle Zachariah and Aunt Elizebeth who the bible says were both from the priestly order. He may not be a pastor or a pastor's kid directly, but He is close enough to understand some of the world views that the religious elite of that day would have had. His immediate family may not have been currently in political or priestly power, but He was close enough to have heard the stories and developed a sympathy for those who were. He didn’t see them all as inhuman figureheads. He probably wasn't caught up in the gossip blogs or baseless critiques of people in prominent positions because He sympathized with them. While many may have felt distanced from them, He understood them. He saw them as people with real fears, love, relationships, and emotions.
The family Jesus was born into gave Him sympathy, but not just for the elite. Remember, Jesus was also born to a controversy-stricken teen mom who scholars believe would eventually become a single mother. He was born during a mass homicide that left the city without any males two years old and under. He was born into a sympathy for prestige and knew the hurt of being seen but not known. He knew the social pressures that came with pedigree, but also an intimate understanding of other traumas. He was forced to flee as a refuge in Egypt while every other boy His age was massacred. When the slaughter had subsided, the new ruler of His town of birth wasn't much better. So His traumatized family thought it best to move to their third town in these short few years, the slums of Nazareth. Nazareth was known as a place where dreams came to die. Nazareth was a town so depressed that you would be made fun of if you even suggested betterment. So Jesus understood the elites of His day, but He also identified with the working-class refugees from broken families in cities of lost dreams. No side was foreign to Jesus.
I tell you this to point out that I believe the angels were not exaggerating when they said Jesus would bring peace and goodwill to all men, not just some. He was expertly crafted to interact with the people He’d be called to save. The Bible gives us imagery of crowds with both religious elite and notorious sinners that would come to listen to Jesus, and I believe Jesus was expertly crafted to be able to communicate to both groups in just the way they needed to be connected with. One of the most sought-after abilities among speakers is the ability to say one thing, but have separate groups with their own mindsets, assumptions, and goals to hear exactly what they need to hear. Jesus could rhetorically spar and debate the Hebrew bible with the best theologians as a preteen but He spoke the Galilean dialect of Aramaic with His fisherman friends with shady criminal records, Peter, James, and John. He could relate to upstanding leaders like Nicodemus and disgraced outcasts like the woman at the well. He could sympathize with the hopeless leper and the desperate Roman centurion. His past prepared Him for His purpose.
One of the biggest miracles surrounding Jesus’ life is how many unique cultures, communities, and contexts He could relate to and sympathize with. One of His superpowers was His heart for people, and this heart developed because He could relate to them. This is the same for you. Jesus was able to impact so many diverse communities and cultures because the Father designed His life to function that way. His childhood dictated His sympathies and world views and was later used to leverage His influence. There are demographics that only you can sympathize with. Others may not understand the nuances of poverty but you do. Others may not understand the challenges of divorce but you do. Others may not know what it's like to care for a dying relative but you do. Others may not know what it's like to have the career pressure you have or the overwhelming feeling of being an underdog that you've carried. You are uniquely designed to relate to a demographic that no one sles can speak to. You know the slang, challenges, hang-ups, and world views. You know the desires, fears and hopes. Your past often directly points to the platforms you've been prepared to perform in. You were designed to have a heart for the ministry you'd be called to. You are crafted to impact the past and present versions of yourself. If you want to know where you are called to serve, ask yourself what you needed. You are called to impact people just like you. Others may not understand, but you do, and that is why you are called.
God wants to use your past, but God doesn't just want to use the good parts. I want you to notice what pushes Jesus into ministry. Jesus has been chilling for 30 years. He has been being prepared for three decades now and finally decides to bloom into who He was designed to be. Why now? What was the push?
The Bible shows us that the actions that prompted Jesus’ prolific ministry were His temptation in the wilderness and the arrest of His cousin John. This points out an interesting part of our process. It is often pain that propels us into purpose. God doesn't just want to use the good parts of your life. He wants to recycle the bad. The negative feelings and experiences you go through are often the fuel for your breakthrough. Innovation only happens when the pain of stagnation is greater than the pain of actualization. Often times the best recipes are produced when you have the fewest ingredients. The biggest businesses are established when the founders are broke and desperate. The most impactful songs are birthed from the deepest senses of pain. I've heard it said that the most prolific leaders are often the most burdened. Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, says, “Innovation is not born from the dream. Innovation is born from the struggle.”
Many of the best pastors have sympathy because they've experienced the most loss. Many have lost children, parents or siblings in tragic ways. Many have close friends and family who are shackled by addiction or sickness or even locked away for undesirable crimes. I believe this is what drives the fire many feel to love the unlovable and liberate as many people as possible. They feel it. The best innovators have experienced the most stagnation. The most prolific have experienced the most pain. This is why your favorite artists are so troubled. What you can produce is often tied to how comfortable you are leaning into your pain. Don't ignore it. Don't forget it. It's trying to tell you something. You can't be healed from what you are afraid to reveal. Sweeping pains under the rug limits healing. Jay Springer in his book, “Unwanted” actually explores how the process of uncovering our past and leaning into the pain of unwanted addictions is actually the map to the liberation we desire. Facing your hurts is the key to flourishing in your future.
God doesn't waste any aspect of your reality. Don't throw away your past because it is what God is using to preview your purpose. Don't ignore your pain because it is what God has allowed to power your productivity. The challenges your kids go through are what will prompt you to start a parenting ministry. The headache in your marriage is what will push you to mentor other couples. The bankruptcy is what will push you to help others get out of debt. Your parent's divorce is what will motivate you to pour into your marriage. I don't think Joseph would care about the food supply in Egypt as much as he did if he wasn't once the prisoner who went without food. Samuel could sympathize with David because he knew what it was like to be called at a young age. Your story is what will impact your ministry. Your past prepares you and your pain propels you. Through intimacy with God and honesty with Christian counselors, we can use our past pains to open a whole new understanding of our preferred future.
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