YOU’VE GOT TALENT
Kimberly Lawrence
Today's Scripture: “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.” Matthew 25:15, ESV
Theme: Everyone is trusted with different abilities and resources. The Master knows what we can handle.
I WAS “TALENTLESS”
For much of my life, I considered myself talentless. I was the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none” and thought there was nothing glamorous about the things I did well. I couldn’t (and still can’t) sing, play an instrument, speak a foreign language, paint, or draw. I still think I lack artistic creativity in most things generally considered to be “talent.”
HIDDEN TALENTS
Several years ago, The Cove did a series on spiritual gifts and encouraged us to take an online assessment to help determine how our individual strengths might be used for kingdom work. While I don’t recall the specific results of my own survey, it revealed there are areas in which I excel that can certainly be used by God. Though I never considered my skills in administration, encouragement, hospitality, or generosity to be gifts, they are important and useful to God. I just assumed everyone could do those things… and more! I unknowingly undervalued my gifts as somehow being deficient or inferior because I gave more credibility to the things I saw others do that seemed so much more meaningful. In reality, God gave me the talents that were perfect for me, useful for Him, and in the exact right proportion to serve Him...if I would do so.
Today’s Scripture reminds us that everyone will be entrusted in a unique way, according to the Master’s plan. He alone knows where and how we will be fruitful and, if we are obedient, He will magnify our work.
WHO CAN COUNT THE APPLES IN A SEED?
Do you know who Edward Kimball was? It’s ok; his isn’t exactly a household name. Edward Kimball was a mere Sunday School teacher who went out of his way to track down a young man who worked stocking shelves at a shoe store. That man, Dwight L. Moody, prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior as a result of Kimball’s visit. The chain of events set into motion between these two men eventually led to a revival hosted by Mordecai Ham where Billy Graham came to faith in Christ. Edward Kimball died in 1901 and Reverend Billy Graham wasn’t born until 1918. Kimball would never know the billions (with a “b”) that would hear the Good News, thanks to the ripple effect of his step of faith for a single Sunday school youth. There is an old adage applicable here: “You can count the apples on the tree, but who can count the apples in a seed?”
Using our God-given talents doesn’t always mean we’ll see the immediate fruits of our labor. Satisfaction shouldn’t come from seeing the success of our own actions. It comes from pleasing God through obedience. We must have faith in the perfect plan God has, of which we may have a small but essential part.
Make It Personal: Talents, God-given and meant for His glory, are unique and given in different proportions. We must remember, however, that one is not necessarily better than the others and that each are meant to be used. You and your gifts are perfectly chosen for His glory, not your own. Be careful not to disrespect God’s gift to you by belittling or diminishing it through self-deprecation. Not all of us will fill stadiums like Billy Graham, but God will bless our use of the talents we’ve been given as we sow our seeds of faith.
Pray: Father, thank You for the gifts You have given me. Use me according to Your plan. Forgive me for when I’ve failed to see or use the talents You’ve entrusted to me. I want to be obedient in service to the things You are calling me to do. Give me the courage to step out in faith, trusting Your will to be done. Amen.
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12: 3-8
Weekly Memory Verse: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:23, ESV