His Glory Blog

The ideal Christian life is spent walking the path God designed for you, the path you were called to walk and created to flourish on. Many times we see people walk outside of their design and end up in a place of desperation. It is not always obvious to find what caused the desperation but the end result is a plea to God for help. Many have been in that place on their own journey. When you see despair develop, look back to see where your course left a focus on God. Also look and see what is truly the correct view of the moment. There is amazing wisdom found when we use a Spirit perspective to see God’s view. We will not always know or understand the Will of God but we can be confident in His desire. The desire of God is your faith in Him and that His love be returned. We are told that God gives to His children as He sees fit. His provision is specific to your design and your walk. Part of having God’s viewpoint is recognizing what you are given and how to best use your Godly resources. This concept is the topic for this applications post.

The wisdom of God is perfect. All things work together for the prosperity of those who love Him. That prosperity many times includes pain, suffering, and times that test faith. That’s the love of God acting in you to sanctify you and keep your eyes on Him. There are moments when that pain is self perceived. These are the times we can trust God until we see clearly. God calls us not to envy our brothers and sisters. Each is provided for in a way the Kingdom can flourish. We are not called to understand, but to faithfully surrender. Let’s make a simple analogy to apply larger truth. This can hopefully be used to make many situations clearer.

Imagine kids playing in a sandbox. Everyone has a shovel but they are arguing over which shovel they want. The kid with the green shovel wants the yellow one. The kid with the flat shovel wants the rounded one. They complain that play time is not living up to their self focused standards. They don’t realize how each type of shovel has unique capabilities. The pointy shovel helps dig through hard spots, the flat shovel makes smooth edges and the rounded moves the most sand per scoop. The color is irrelevant but the red seems to be so popular that the sandbox is in chaos. God the Father sits on the bench smiling because His children can’t see the beauty in their individuality. They can’t see how working together would make a perfect hole. They are too caught up in shapes and colors and miss the point that they each have a valuable tool given to them. The message here is to use what the Lord gives and be happy to support people in their giftings as well. When you use your provision for God He can trust you with more. When you waste your gifts in dissatisfaction they cannot serve the Kingdom. When you feel lost or a sense of lack, find what shovel you have. Look for your role in God’s sandbox. Serve the Body of Christ with joy because you get to have your own shovel. That shovel is a gift through faith. Cherish your place, cherish your provision, most importantly cherish the Provider. See you have more then you need, probably less than you want; but as the difference between needs and wants becomes less, your place with the Lord becomes clearer.

1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace