“Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others.
So use your gift well.”
1 Peter 4:10, CEV
As a child, Saturdays were for more than Bugs Bunny cartoons and a bowl of sugary cereal. Saturday was also our dreaded “clean-the-house” day. Armed with Old English polish and a clean rag, I swiped the dust from shelves in the kitchen and the wooden surfaces in my parent’s living room. Dusting was one chore I shared with my three brothers.
As an adult, I have stayed quite busy with all the things—family, work, church, and friends. Time flies when you’re having fun! However, there was a dream planted in my heart years ago, lying dormant and untended.
I could feel it tug at my heart. “Hey remember me?” my dream would call out. But the perceived pressures of performing, consistency, and perfection made me push my dream to the side in lieu of the dust on my coffee table. So, with a rag in one hand and polish in the other, I distracted myself from my dream as I wiped the dust away.
In 2 Timothy 1, Paul encourages Timothy not to be bashful about using his gifts to share the Good News. Paul says to “stir up the gift of God, which is in you.” He was telling Timothy to fan it into flames so it would grow from a small, burning ember of desire into a roaring, effective fire.
You, like me, have a gift from God. 1 Peter 4:10 is one of my favorite scriptures, and it says, “Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well” (CEV). Have you been using your gift fully, or are you so busy with all the things that, like me, your gift has a little layer of dust gathering on the surface?
When you feel that uncomfortable tug reminding you God has
something special for you to do, I’d like you to remember these three things:
1. God is calling you because He has someone in mind whose life will be pulled closer to Him because of your obedience.
2. God is calling you because He wants to stretch your vision, abilities, and capacity to love other people.
3. God is calling you because He wants you to trust Him to help you through the process.
God loves you, without question. But His heart is always for the one – the one who feels forgotten. The one who is lost. The one who is running. The one who is ashamed. The one who is afraid.
I have been that one.
In explaining God’s heart for the one to the disciples, Jesus says in Matthew 18:12-13, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search for the one which went astray? And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine which never went astray” (MEV).
God is looking for the one to come to Him, and He uses His imperfect, busy, often-distracted people to show them the way. Will you ignore the call? Will you, like I have done so often, find all the things that need doing and stay so busy doing them that you drown out the voice which is softly and tenderly calling you forward?
The great news is that today is Saturday! It isn’t too late to dust off your calling and tend the dream God planted in your heart! Take some time to think about the aspirations smoldering deep within you and ask God to show you how to make the next step in walking out that call. Before long, your dream won’t just be dusted off; it will be blazing!
Blessings,
Holly
Holly, Your writing is so inspirational and encourages everyone to press forward. You challenge us to lean into our gift, but trust that God has us in His hands. Amazing!
Thank you so much for your response! God truly has amazing plans for each one of us, and I love seeing people who throw caution to the wind in pursuit of His plan. I’m still learning to push aside perfectionism and press in to His call. What a journey we get to be on with Him!
That was very inspiring! Great perspective on God gave us our dreams for a reason and we do have a purpose. Thank you for the encouragement.
Thank you for your response, Leticia! God certainly has a purpose for us all, and I love seeing people walking forward in it with Him!
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