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God Desires April 16, 2008 by Deanna Chadwick "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." -Joshua 22:5
God desires for us to totally trust in Him and rely on Him to help us do what we need to do. However, He does that by giving us talents and it is our responsibility to develop those talents or abilities in order to serve Him better. We don't have to have perfected our skills before we use them, but continuing to work on them if we feel we can do better is a good thing. Everything needs to be wrapped in "doing it for God's glory and not our own". If we are doing something just because no one else is doing it, but are struggling and not feeling at peace about our contributions, then maybe that's not what God wants us to do and we have "stepped in to fix things" rather than waiting for God to show us (or someone else) where He wants us. It is one thing to step in in a pinch to do something that needs to be done, but it is different to do something on a continual basis and struggle with it.
If I felt God was leading me to do something, then I would expect to do whatever it took to make me feel like I was doing a good job at what God asked me to do. Everything I do has the potential of being used to praise God and therefore everything I do needs to be done to the best of my ability. Sometimes my ability for one thing is greater than my ability for another thing and that's ok as long as I am doing my best at whatever I am doing.
For example, I feel that hospitality is a talent I have. Therefore, when I am responsible for a dinner or I am having someone over to my house, then I need to put out my best effort to make it an enjoyable time for those people - make them feel comfortable, important, etc. I ask God to help me choose the right combinations of people to invite, to bless each one of them as they are in our house, that our conversations would be encouraging and uplifting, that we would be able to minister to them in some way. On the other hand, public speaking is not a talent of mine.
However, if I am asked to speak before a group, read something or give a devotion, then I give it my best and totally depend on God to make it all come out right. Time and time again, I have been approached about doing something, and my gut reaction was NO WAY! Then, I felt uneasy about my response, felt like God was saying, "Really? Are you saying I can't do this through you??", so then I have said, "Ok, God, if You really want me to do this, You need to make it very clear to me." He does, and I do it and am in constant prayer the entire time and totally dependent on God to work through me and just allow myself to be the vessel. Comments: Wifeofthegreatwau says, "I really appreciate your perspecitive on this. I tend to want to jump in a "fix" things, but then I get frustrated because it's not done well, because it's not my gifting or talent but I don't really want it to be left undone. I appreciate your encouragement to "wait on the Lord" instead of trying to do it myself. Thanks for the reminder that it is "in Him" that I can do all things, not in me." |
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