I love to
tell this story on myself, although this took place several years ago my prayer is that you'll see the value in the talent He has "Set" in you.
I'd been wanting a new cell phone so my husband and I went out and bought one. I was ecstatic about the great offer more minutes for the same amount of money I had been
paying for my previous service, and no roaming charges! What a deal! However I
had no idea when I walked out of the cellular store celebrating in my purchase,
bag full of manuals, brochures and terms of contract in tote, that this new
phone had many more capabilities than the I previously owned.
Not fully having total understanding on how this new phone operated I set the phone on my desk, unable to take time at that point to go over
the extensive directions. I figured I would just leave it there and wait until Rod and I could revel in my celebration, together! When I finally
activated the phone and set up my voicemail and ringtones, I found myself at
a crossroads. Should I brave the textbook-sized user manual? After all, my
phone was turned on and functioning. I knew how to send and receive calls. What
more did I need? I was good to go.
However, the
salesman’s pitch about the numerous features my phone had still rang in my
ears: “You've got caller ID, call waiting, free phone calls to other people
in our network and so on”
So, I peeled back the shrink-wrap from the owner’s
manual and began to skim it. At first I
was in awe. “Wow,” I thought. “I can send an email from my phone! And would
you look at that, I can access the Internet…hmmm, it even has voice-activated
dialing. I wonder what else this compact wonder can do?”
Soon,
however, I was overwhelmed by the thought of trying to implement all the
special functions. “Where would I begin?”
I wondered. “I don't have a lot of time
to fool around with all these settings, and I'm not very good at high-tech
stuff.” Feeling discouraged I gave
up “I’m not going to be able to figure
this out. I can just use the phone for normal calls and not worry about all
this other stuff better yet have I’ll have Rod figure it out and then give me
instructions.”
For several
days I walked around in cell-phone ignorance, just moving my phone in and out
of my purse, plugging it into the wall to recharge, answering and initiating
calls.
One day, on my way home from work, I realized the way I was
handling my cell phone is the way many Christians handle the gifts and talents
God has given them. He invests so many “features” in us yet, like me with my
cell phone, we don't take the time out to find out what they are and cultivate
what He has placed in us.
Instead, we
go in with a lack of knowledge, using only the features that are more obvious
and easy to access. We fail to inquire all the “settings” that God has preset
into us; not only to bless Him but also
to bless others.
Confession
time: I saw that I had left areas untouched because of fear of failure or busyness or just plain laziness. Like
the man Jesus described who hid the talent his master gave him Matthew 25:18,26, 28, I too, had buried His investment in me
rather than using it wisely so that it would bring Him a return.
Needless to
say, this changed my way of thinking. I don’t want to receive the same response
from God that the servant received from his master. The master called the man a
“’wicked and lazy servant’” and took away the one talent he had given him.
Today I do
have a new IPhone and I'm still finding new features available to me! May it be
so in all our lives that we hunger after the Lord and truly seek to develop the
gifts He has placed in us!
What has He
"Set" in you?
My prayer is
you will be determined for God to reveal the gifts He has set in you and pray
for opportunities to develop and use them. Ask Him to help you resist settling
for the norm and to instill in you a desire to dig into His reservoir of
possibilities for your life.
Thanks for
stopping by “Today’s Word of Purpose” … and keep Him close to your heart!
Love Deb
