Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you nuggets from your life . . .
When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.
Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. “I was made to do this,” you say.
Our Maker gives assignments to people, to each according to each one’s unique ability. As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.
- from Cure for the Common Life
I read the above today, and while I agree with much of it, there's something to be wary of here as well. It is true that each of us is uniquely made to be a unique reflection of God's glory. Even identical twins have their own individual aspects of personality and skills. I also believe that we all have a calling in the kingdom, something God has for us and no one else. And it is very true that whom God calls, He equips. It is likewise true that there are times that God creates us with talents, skills, aptitude and a heart for certain things, and it can be a source of joy when those areas mesh with what God would have us do.
I wrote my first story in elementary school about a fantasy land of chocolate. I still remember it, the idea anyway. I imagined myself being a writer of stories, and from time to time I still feel the pull to sit down and try to write a novel. But I set aside fiction for poetry sometime between junior high and high school. In college I studied journalism before leaving writing for photography. I have always had some skill with words though, and while the writing of these Moments is not remotely what
I imagined when I thought of being a writer, I guess it's safe to say that my gifts and skills are indeed used in my calling to serve Daddy. This becomes even more true when the fact that I competed in public speaking as a teen, where I learned how to stand in front of people and present my thoughts. It was training and a skill I find quite useful when I preach.
But that said and acknowledged, it is important to remember that God equips those He calls. It's not that He calls those who are equipped and qualified. We need to be wary of the idea of finding our aptitude and look at what we enjoy and determine that we have therefore learned what God wants us or has called us to do. This is my gift and passion, so God needs to use me this way. That's dangerously close to my will be done and let my will be Yours Oh God. It doesn't work that way. Yes, I have some ability to write, but this is not the kind of writing that is my passion. I love what God has called me to do and helping others find the freedom I have found. I wouldn't trade it. But still, I'd rather write best-selling novels if it were about my passion and not my relationship with Daddy. There are those who are called to write novels. I am not one of them. Now, that doesn't mean I can't, that God won't let me, or that I never will, but I don't think it will ever take the place of simply helping people find freedom and to know that Daddy loves them.
And let's not forget that we have some pretty big examples of just the opposite. Moses certainly didn't have a joy for or aptitude for speaking. He tried to get a pass on his calling because it didn't sound like something he'd enjoy or be good at. God ignored his qualifications and made it work. David was a musician and poet who raised sheep. He showed so much ability and desire to lead that no one even thought about him when the prophet showed up to anoint a son of Jesse the next king. Yet He was called to be king of Israel. Peter was a quick tempered, rough, uneducated fisherman who showed no leaning toward looking right for the job of preaching the love of God to the world, and yet....
With the above idea taken as absolute right guidance, Peter missed his calling. He should have started a ministry feeding the poor with fresh fish or something like that. My father should be a bird hunting guide who shares Jesus with his fellow hunters, or maybe a taxidermist. But definitely something other than a pastor. Yet God equips those He calls, and my father is in the top few ministers I admire and respect. There's nothing wrong with using what you enjoy and are good at for God's glory and for service to Him and others. But let us always remember that God's ways are not our own and the secular teachings of visualize it and chase it down are not always the right way to go. It's not always true that God will call us to do what we are good at or enjoy. If it were, I can assure that I would never be walking into a jail to minister. I love those I go to see, but there is little on this earth that I hate more than the sound of those doors slamming shut.
We must always look to the Spirit to direct our paths, and then we will be where we need to be, where we will be most satisfied with what we are doing, even if it is something we may not feel qualified for or would ever pick as enjoyable. Whom He calls He equips, and there is nothing more satisfying than doing exactly what God would have you do. I dare say not even having as many best sellers as Stephen King. Your will, Oh God, not mine.
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