“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10, NIV)
A paper weight on my desk has the inscription, “Don’t wait for your ship to come in. Swim out to it!” As we practice KingdomNomics, we aggressively look for ways to converterlate our talents for the advancement of the kingdom of God. People often make the mistake of waiting for their ship to come in, hoping for something to come their way. Waiting and wishing with good intentions will not accomplish any worthwhile objective. If it feels like not much is happening in your life, perhaps the Lord is saying, “Stop waiting for your ship; start swimming!”
Each one of us needs to ask ourselves this question: Am I available? If we are really honest, oftentimes, we are unavailable.
This was also true in Bible times. Moses didn’t want to go to Egypt to be the spokesman for leading the people out of the Egyptian captivity. He offered all kinds of excuses. Gideon questioned why God would choose him to head up the army that would free God’s people from their oppressors. Jonah ran away from the responsibility God called him to. John Mark deserted Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey.
God is looking for available people to do his work. Jesus said, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37, NLT). When it comes to investing your talent, are you willing to allow God to use all of your abilities and gifts for his purposes, no matter what that may be?
The prophet Isaiah said, “Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8, NLT). What opportunities is God giving you to use your talent to serve him? The Holy Spirit has empowered us to accomplish great things. Second Corinthians 5:5 encourages us with these words, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit” (ESV). You may have many talents or only one, but with the Holy Spirit’s power working through you, you can make a difference that will last for all eternity.
We need to be alert to areas in which the Holy Spirit is moving us and blessing the efforts we are making on his behalf. Then we have to “swim” out to those places and join the forward movement with the rest of the team.
In what ways are you currently using your talent(s) to make a difference for eternity? What opportunities are being presented to you that you are afraid to take advantage of?
Converterlators utilize the opportunities that God gives them to use their talents.