”…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills…Also, I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you.”
[Exodus 31:3, 6b]
For some context, God is talking to Moses here. The last couple chapters have been God giving Moses TONS of specific instructions about sacraments to build, and plenty of other instructions, as well. And in this passage, He tells Moses that there are already people He set aside to accomplish these tasks/build all that He instructed them to build. I think this is such a great passage for multiple reasons.
First, this passage shows that God gives each and every one of us specific gifts. They may seem like odd, disjointed, non-Kingdom related gifts, but He has a reason for giving you those gifts. He says, in verses 4 and 5, that He gave these men the specific skills so they could ‘make artistic designs…to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.’ These gifts/abilities all had purposes in God’s Kingdom. But you can only imagine that maybe some of the guys with those gifts were kind of confused by their talents earlier in life. This is why I think it’s important to utilize the talents God has given us. He’s given them to us for a reason and we should not take that lightly or ignore them. He wants to use those gifts to further His Kingdom.
This is definitely an area where I struggle. I struggle with knowing what exactly I’m talented in. [This is not me fishing for compliments, by the way.] I think I’m decent at several things, but to this day, there still isn’t one specific thing that I feel CALLED TO DO. And that’s a really difficult thing to feel when all we hear about is the ‘gifts’ that God has given us and how we need to use them. So, I know that sounds hypocritical when you pair it with what I said in the previous paragraph. But, all that being said, if you DO have a passion, run towards it. Point the glory back to Him because He wants to use it for something, but definitely pursue it. And if you don’t feel a particular calling? Trust that He will reveal it to you in due time. In the mean time, keep trying to live for Him and do what you feel you’re good at–but, also step out of your comfort zone every once in awhile.
WOW. That was a lot of rambling I did not expect to do.
ANYWAY. The other reason I really loved this passage is that it shows us that God has really got it all planned out. He won’t ask too much of you. He will prepare you for what’s down the road. I’m certain that hearing all of the detailed, specific instructions that God was giving him, Moses felt quite overwhelmed. I would–I did just reading it! But then, it seems that God gives him reassurance, and immediately lets him know that He already has men who can perform each one of those tedious, particular tasks. All that being said, TRUST HIM. He will prepare you for what’s down the road. But that’s also why it’s important to not look too far down that road. That will just overwhelm you, like Moses could have been if he started thinking about the logistics of it all. So, take it one day at a time, trusting that God has a plan, and He’s got perfect timing.
thanks for reading!
-erinn victoria