How many projects, crafts, recipes have I missed out on because I didn’t have the right tools, supplies or ingredients? All these great ideas on Pinterest that never come to fruition because I literally didn’t have what it took to make it happen. Oh, everything I needed was out there and available, but I was either too lazy to go get it, too cheap to invest in it or too afraid that the end result wouldn’t be what I’d hoped.
How many things am I missing out on in life because I don’t think I have what it takes to accomplish it? How many brilliant plans of God have I dismissed because it seems too difficult for my capabilities, too costly for my time, or too far beyond the confines of my own mental and spiritual box? Am I afraid of failure, of letting down others, God, myself?
Slowly I am learning from the Carpenter, the Creator, the Bread of Life Himself that if He calls me to do something, if He brings something to mind that He has for me that I can’t ignore or tune out, then He will give me the “tools”, the “supplies”, the “ingredients” to do what He’s asked.
One of the things I so adore about God is that He gives us the basic blueprint, pattern, recipe in His written Word. The bible shows us the character of God, the habits and heart of Jesus and asks us to emulate the same. But within the guidelines of “loving God and loving people” there is so much freedom, so much variation as to how that looks in each of our lives.
Each of us has been blessed with different personalities (tools), gifts (supplies) and situations (ingredients), all custom made to fit what we were meant to do. There is no possible way, given the multitude of variants, that my purpose, my task, my finished product will look exactly like yours or vice versa. It can’t. It shouldn’t. It was never meant to.
Our God is so personal that He interacts with each of us as unique individuals. And within the basic “blueprint”, “plan”, “recipe” of His Word, He joins each of us to add the various embellishments and spices that are designed specifically for our own story with Him. We are fully equipped and endlessly supplied with everything we need to live out the glorious LIFE He has called us to in our own unique colors, styles and flavors.
We never have to worry that we are alone in what He asks us to do. Because the same One who created us for the job will guide us every step of the way. An apprentice situation with our Teacher and Example working right along with us, leading us, teaching us, growing us until the project is complete.
THIS is abundant life! Stepping out in trust to do what we were meant to do. Born to do. Destined for. Unafraid because we know WHAT we are supposed to do, WHY we are supposed to do it and WHO is doing the asking, the tutoring. The HOW will come with each baby step of obedience and proactivity.
The WHEN is now…
1 Thessalonians 5:24 – God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
Philippians 1:6 – And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 4:19 – And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
2 Peter 1:3 – By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
