Tag: Discipleship

“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”—Psalm 147:10-11.

Do you ever feel so skilled in what you do that you require little help from others? Perhaps you may feel that you are more skilled than any other in your field. Does God need your skills and abilities in order to accomplish His purposes on this earth? The answer is, NO.

One thing God does not need is our skills and abilities. However, He does give us the privilege to exercise our gifts and abilities for His service. That service may be as a computer technician, a secretary, an iron worker, or even a lawyer. God calls each of us to our vocations to work unto Him. To believe that He needs our skills to accomplish His mission on earth would be to lower our understanding of an all-encompassing and all-powerful God. The psalmist tells us that His pleasure is not in our strength and ability, but His pleasure is in the attitude of the heart. It is what we find in the heart that helps determine whether ability is translated into availability. You see God is looking to and fro throughout the earth for a man or woman who is fully committed to Him. A man or woman who is committed to fearing the Lord and placing his hope in His unfailing love is the person God
seeks to support. “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. . .”—2 Chronicles 16:9a. When His agenda becomes our agenda, we can expect God to fully support all that we do.

If we want to see our skills and abilities multiplied a hundred fold, then we must make them completely available to His service. Where are the opportunities in which God is calling you to be available to Him? Next
time someone asks you to be involved in some activity, before you say yea or nay, make sure you check in with the Master of our decisions to ensure that your gifts and talents are being used, as He desires.

“. . .and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.”—Daniel 5:19.

Tom desired a career in the building industry. Early in his career, he was working with a large ministry to help direct several of their construction projects.

As the projects were completed, Tom was asked to stay on for future projects. To keep him busy he was given a number of jobs – one of which was cleaning toilets. He recalls getting down on his knees each day and complaining to the Lord, “Lord, I’m a college graduate!”

Discouraged, Tom told the Lord, “I will not leave here until You promote me. Please give me contentment with my circumstance.”

Tom felt totally forgotten by God. A few months later, Tom received a phone call from a man in the Midwest who owned five successful businesses who wanted to interview Tom for a job. This came as a total surprise to Tom. As he drove to the interview, he told the Lord, “I only want your will in my life, nothing else. I am content to remain obscure for the rest of my life if I have You. You must override my lack of experience for me to get this job.”

The owner of the company asked Tom a surprising question: “If I asked you to clean a toilet, what would you do?” Tom sat there, stunned. He wanted to burst out laughing. Tom assured him that he would simply pick up a sponge and start cleaning.

Amazingly, Tom was hired even though other candidates were more qualified. After several months of success Tom asked his boss why he hired him. His boss replied, “Tom, I still have a large stack of applications from people who wanted this job. Do you remember the first question I asked you in the interview? I asked each one the same question. You were the only one who said he would clean the toilet. Tom, I am a wealthy man, but I grew up dirt poor. I clean my own toilets at home. I can’t have people running my businesses who are too proud to clean a toilet.”

Sometimes God places us in situations to see if we will be faithful in those before He is willing to promote us to greater things.