“I have chosen Bezalel
son of Uri, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with
understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.” Exodus 31:2
What are you good at doing?
Something for sure because God gave all His children special gifts on
their birthday into His family. Besides
those spiritual presents, by nature and nurture God has blessed us with talents
and abilities to do all kinds of things. His purpose in this bounty is that our
good works will bring Him glory, and it takes all of us doing our part to
complete the project.
On top of a desert mountain God gave Moses specific instructions
on how to construct the tabernacle with its contents and on how to clothe and
consecrate the priests. Was one man, the
majority of whose life had been spent leading sheep in circles, meant to tackle
this task alone? Of course not, and in
case Moses thought so, God was quick to reassure him otherwise. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “See,
I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God,
with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—
to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set
stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts”(Ex 31:2-5).
As the faithful missionary, Hudson Taylor, aptly stated,
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s provision,” but provision
means more than just being able. In
fact, Bezalel’s skills were last on the list of his qualifications. To equip him for the task ahead, God had
filled this man with His Spirit, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and,
finally, the ability to create and build.
This order is a loud reminder that God’s presence and power followed up by
our priority to seek His will and His ways are prerequisites for successful
service.
We can all be effective servants because we have all been
equipped. Some of us meet needs and some
show mercy. Some lift up and some
lead. Some preach and some teach. Some organize and administrate, some design
and create, and some share their stuff and themselves generously and
gladly. Some sing. Some dance. Some run the sound system, and some rock the babies. But whatever we’ve been fitted and formed to
do, Sunday through Saturday, we are all to be about God’s business of showing
His love and grace to desperate and needy people—not burying our talents in
fear of failure.
If we do what we’re made to do because we desire to make much
of God, we will succeed, especially when we do it together. Solos are nice, but it takes more than one to
make a choir. God gifted others besides Bezalel
with creativity. “I have also appointed
Oholiab of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the
skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you”(Ex 31:6). Together, these men would build God’s
dwelling place on earth, and many would be blessed by what they did.
Though Bezalel and his buddies soon finished the Tabernacle,
God’s big construction project goes on. “In Christ you too are building built
together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”(Eph 2:22). His multi-faceted mercy is most fully
revealed when we’re all busy sharing our sometimes overlapping and often
similar abilities, and when we engage and exercise our unique skills and
aptitudes. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms”(I Peter 4:10). We’re all a different mix, and that’s by divine
design. Our gifts are not to be compared
or counted, for God’s work is not a contest but a collaboration. He is building something beautiful, and we
are blessed with talents and abilities to do our part.
Don’t sit around lamenting what you think you lack. Get busy doing what you’re good at, and God
will get the glory.
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