Friday-Equipped

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20,21

You can tell when hurricane season rolls around here in Florida. There’s lots of talk about being ready. We’re told to go out and get batteries and bottled water. If we have a generator, we need to look it over and make sure it’s ready to go. We might want to get some food that doesn’t need refrigeration. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches come in a distant second to Pop-Tarts®[1]. We do all this to be equipped and ready for a storm.

When we went fishing when I was a kid, we never just jumped into the car. Not on your life. We made ham sandwiches and drinks to take with us. Dad bought claims and worms for bait. He filled up the car and five-gallon cans with gas. After driving for about an hour, all this and more was loaded onto the boat. Only then could we shove off because then we were equipped to go fishing.

Being equipped is one of those funny words and ideas. When you’re doing all the work to be equipped, you’re not actually there. You might be doing all sorts of things and sweating a lot, but you’re not quite there yet. You only move over the finish line once you stop.

It’s like filling your car up with gas. While you’re putting the fuel in, the car is not equipped to go. Even after you stop filling up the vehicle, you’re not ready to go forward. Only after you get back in and turn the key is everything in place to take off. Only then are the car and your equipped.

We see this when Jesus called James and John. They were at work on their father’s boat, getting ready to go out fishing. And before they could actually start fishing, they had to fix any holes and untangle any knots. Only after everything was made right were the nets 100% ready. Another way to say this is that James and John equipped their nets[2].

The general idea of being equipped is to make everything ready. All the preparation is done. Everything has been looked over and fixed. Whatever wasn’t full has been filled up. All the different pieces fit together and are working together smoothly.

It would be one thing if this was true about someone else. You know. Those people who just seem to have everything go right for them. Everything they touch turns to gold. All their stock picks go up. Every time they change lanes in their car, that lane goes faster than the others. When they go to pay for their food at the grocery store, a new line opens up right in front of them. We all know people like this. We’re all really jealous of people like this.

And then there’s us. You and me. The people that have to work long and hard for just a little something to maybe go a little bit right. When it takes others five minutes to fix most things, we struggle to accomplish anything in under five hours. I imagine that’s how the Hebrews felt about themselves too.

But in our Lord Jesus, our great Shepherd of the sheep, he has equipped us. His equipping of us spiritually is so done that it’s in our rearview mirror. He’s totally paid for and forgiven all our sins[3]. He took the complete list of all our sins and nailed it to the cross once and for all[4]. He’s continually filling us totally with his Holy Spirit[5].

But what’s all this equipping for? Is it for us to sit back and pat ourselves on the back because we’re so equipped? Is it for us to enjoy the fact that we’re equipped and some aren’t? Are we to use our being equipped to fill our lives and bank accounts with money and stuff? Not on your life. We’re told the two reasons right here.

• Doing his will. Not doing our will, but his. Not us figuring out what we want, but deeply desiring to please the one who loves us by doing his will.

• Work in us. God has a plan for you and me. And that means he gets to decide what that work involves. Our job is doing what is pleasing to him.

I know. I know. This is so not the modern, 21st century way of life. It goes against everything and every idea that’s swirling around us. It seems like the internet was invented just to tell us that we get to do what we want. When we want. Where we want. With who we want.

But think about what Jesus came to do. He came down from heaven not to do his own thing. To build up a huge bankroll. To have lots of people clicking “Like” by his social media posts. He didn’t even come to build a great organization. If you don’t believe me, listen to his own words when he says that he came “to do the will of him who sent me[6].” If that was the goal of Jesus, isn’t that same goal good enough for you and me? What more could we want or need? In Jesus, we’re equipped for doing his will. We’re equipped for God to work in us. It’s time for us to stop trying to do anything different. We need to let God use us. His equipped people.

Noodling Questions

• Does anyone need to remind you to get ready? Explain.

• Is doing his will or his working in us easier for you? Why?

• If Jesus came down from heaven, then what’s too much trouble for him?

[1] POP-TARTS is a registered Trademark of the Kellogg North America Company

[2] Matthew 4:21

[3] 1 John 1:9

[4] Colossians 2:14

[5] Ephesians 5:15

[6] John 6:38