Do You Feel Unqualified?

Several years ago, Sue and I went to Chicago to hear Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho. He was a lawyer and a doctor, spoke seven languages, and was the pastor of the largest church in the world at the time.

“I have a question for you,” he said. “Think very hard. Here is the question: What is the address of God?” And then he answered his question: “You.”

As a believer in Jesus, you are like a store, and your shelves are stocked with hope. You carry peace that takes chaos away, and you bring the presence of your Father when you walk into chaotic situations, because you are where He lives.

You Are Not Unqualified

In a shopping mall, the individual stores are blocked off with chain-link barriers overnight. But every morning the employees go in and open up the stores, and people can come get what they need. You and I need to learn how to let the chains off our heart and allow the light of God’s glory already inside us to capture the hearts of those who are seeking Him.

Many of us feel unqualified because we’re not prophets, preachers, missionaries, teachers, or something else. Some of us are convinced we don’t “perform well” when it comes to interacting with strangers, telling them about Jesus, and sharing what the Bible says.

But the truth is, we are the Bible verse. God speaks to the people around us through our life. John Sandford used to say, “The messenger is the message.” I love that simple idea—it is so very true.

The Place Where Hope Is Found

Hope cannot be found out in the world, but it can be found in us because we are God’s address. He is the God of hope; therefore, we are the address of hope. His kindness leads people to repentance; therefore, as we are kind, repentance breaks out.

And this doesn’t happen because we have our act together, know how to say all the right words, and never make mistakes. It happens simply because we are His address and have chosen to make ourselves available to Him.