How to know if you have been commissioned by God

Have you ever questioned your purpose? Have you ever wondered about what God has called you to do? Have you ever second-guessed that “knowing” you have about what you think you are supposed to be doing for God? I know I have!

I always knew I would be serving Jesus my whole life but I never set out to be a speaker and definitely not a speaking coach. I went to Louisiana State University to earn a degree in Interior Design. Never in a million years did I picture myself standing on stages, around the U.S., in front of thousands of people declaring the Gospel with confidence. Nor did I see myself training women from around the world to communicate the Gospel with confidence.

This is what happens when you give your life to Jesus. He does WILD things with your surrender. What I do know is God has commissioned me to train up women communicators for His glory.

When you have a deep knowing in your heart of what God has commissioned you to do, nothing can stop you!

You may be asking what it means to be commissioned. To be commissioned means to be sent out to fulfill a particular purpose. Now the question comes, how can you be so sure God has commissioned you? Let’s take a look at the Scripture to see.

Paul is a prominent figure in the Bible. Before he wrote two-thirds of the New Testament and planted many churches, he did “everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene” (Acts 26:9). He was a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” (1 Timothy 1:13). His radical encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus clues you into what it looks like to be commissioned by God.

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me. Acts 26:15-18

You can know that you know you are commissioned by having an encounter with Jesus. There are three things Jesus will communicate to you as He is commissioning you:

1. He tells you what to do.

   • Jesus always brings us into His Presence in order to bring us out of our past.

   • When He shows up, He gives clear orders.

     • Get to your feet!

     • You will be a servant and a witness.

       • Being a servant and a witness goes hand in hand.

2. He tells you what to say.

   • Tell the people you have seen Jesus.

   • Tell them what Jesus will show you in the future.

3. He tells you who to serve.

   • Paul was called to serve the Gentiles.

   • God will tell you exactly who you are called to serve.

You see this pattern in the great commission. Matthew 28:16-20: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Notice anything similar to the pattern of Paul’s commissioning? I do!! Look at the three things Jesus tells us in the Great Commission:

1. He tells you what to do.

   • Jesus tells us to make disciples

2. He tells you what to say.

   • Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded

3. He tells you who to serve.

   • Go into the world (the people around us)

If you are still wondering if you have been commissioned by God, you are in need of an encounter with Him.

Ask Him to appear to you. Ask Him WHAT He wants you to do, WHAT He wants you to say, and WHO He wants you to serve. He will make it clear to you and then no one will be able to convince you otherwise!