Far too often I take credit for the abilities that God has graciously given me. Even as I write this, I had to edit it because I wrote “my abilities.” The things I am able to do are nothing, but the things God has been gracious enough to enable me to do. True, perhaps I have gone through the trial and error of building up the ability to become better at my craft, but God is ultimately behind it all. I could not do what I do without Him driving each keystroke. While I may have the passion, He supplies the ability.
As an example, I have always said there are baseball players and there are those who play baseball. Just as there are writers and there are those who write. If you don’t catch my meaning, it means that some have an inborn talent who are just meant to do something. And no matter how much training, others cannot reach that level. God must drive someone’s ability because everyone has a calling in their life. Something they were born to do. We just need to discover what that is.
When we discover what that is we should never believe that it is us who is achieving the successes that we achieve. God is behind it all. Our rise and our fall are in His hand. It is never God ‘and.’ True, we must follow his direction and act on his calling, but it is never anything we say or do that will guarantee our success. It is our obedience to our calling that he has placed in us. He has given us talents and abilities. We are to act and use them. And we are to honor him in all we do. Then He will bless us with success.
God is good. He has a calling for each of us. For some of us, it is to hit home runs, for others of us, it is to shine our light in other ways more common. But all of it is for a grand purpose. We are all to testify to God’s activity in an exciting way, in a way that only we can do. A homerun hitter will most likely not author a best-selling novel. Different calling, and different audiences, but each has a purpose, to be used by Christ. So go and use the abilities God has given to you. And shine your light for the world to see.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:10
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-gavel-8693379/
Moments for the Heart 