What's in your hand? Part 1

Often we go through life asking; "What is this all about? What am I meant to be doing? What is my gifting? What am I called to do?" 

Many times we get frustrated, we feel robbed of our calling because we are not working in what we believe to be our calling. 

Some words from Brian Houston reveal more:

"The best way to fulfil what the Lord has put in your heart is by being faithful with what he has put in your hand.

What is in your hand? This is the question God asked of Moses in Exodus 4 as he was grappling with the fact that God had asked him to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt and the bondage that they lived in. Moses tried to convince the Lord that he was not the right person for the job. The gist of Moses' response to God recorded in Exodus 3 and 4 was, "Who am I and who is going to listen to me? How am I possibly going to do that?"

God replied, "What is in your hand?" (Ex. 4:2). Moses was holding a staff, and that is exactly what God told Moses to use in order to see God's desire to free the people of Israel fulfilled. 

Often your calling is screaming at you; it is staring you in the face. It is what you do naturally, the very thing that is in your hand. Sometimes people are waiting for a still, small voice to tell them what their purpose and calling are. They tell God (and anyone in earshot), "I just don't know where I fit. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know what God's will is for my life." But the actual Bible word called means to "call out aloud." There is nothing still and small about it.

Ask yourself, "Where am I gifted? Where are my talents? What comes naturally to me? That is your calling.

There are those who say, "I just feel like God wants me to lay it down." The result can be Christian sports people who want to be pastors, and pastors who want to be business people, and worship leaders who want to be rock stars, and pastors who practically sing their sermons because they want to be worship leaders! The fact is that we do not actually have the right to lay down what the Father has given to us as a gift.

Maybe you have acquired some skills along the way that do not seem to have a whole lot to do with Jesus and the cause of Christ. Maybe over the years you acquired a knack for getting out of tricky situations by stretching the truth. If your gift is clearly at cross-purpose with God, then it is probably best to lay that talent down. But we can often underestimate the God-given gifts and talents we have.

James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights." In other words, the Lord does not change his mind. He is not schizophrenic; he has not made you one way to use you a different way. 

God has given you gifts and talents for a purpose - His Purpose."