“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil. 4:6)
“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matt. 6:8)
The question must be asked by us then, why make our requests known if, which indeed He does, our Father knows everything we need and in fact all we also want?
A diligent parent pays close attention to his child, for that child’s safety and growth, for his overall wellbeing. He understands when chastisement is necessary as much as he does when a hug is needed. Our Father in heaven does not just offer gifts to each of His children, He gives them to us, and the talent to use them properly is always part of the gift.
Each of us who have been chosen by the Almighty are part of a family, yet each of us are different, all on one path, yet on different places within that path.
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:” (Romans 12:4)
It is not wise to force a child who is proficient at one subject to learn all there is about a different subject, the wise father sees within the child what he has a propensity for, and then nurtures that talent.
We are not meant to be well-rounded Christians my friends. A jack of all trades, as it is said, but master of none is not our path, one can collect much in this life, but if it does not all fit into the same bag, only little of much has been accumulated.
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”
James 3:1 does not mean not being the best you can be with the gift or gifts that the Lord has blessed you with. We are the children that the Lord is training up in the way that we should go, and much of that training is to take those gifts that He has blessed you with, study and apply them in your life for His glory, and to sharpen those talents to the best of your ability.
That training requires the recognition of that gift, that will come, He who has promised is faithful and will reveal it to you, He will also train you in how to grow in the knowledge of it for His glory, but you must be willing to be taught, and not only taught, but willing to accept that gift.
There are many who will not, for it is not what they want to do, and the examples of this abound in the Scriptures. Moses at the burning bush, Gideon and the calling of the Lord, Jonah, yet each found that what they were called to do, if not initially, was exactly what the Lord would have them to do, and the desire of their heart to see the name of the Most High exalted above the heavens was realized.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1st Cor. 10:31)
One can only be content in Christ when that gift is used for the glory of God. And you must understand this, once the gift, that talent is recognized, if it is not accepted by you, if you do not apply yourself to it with great devotion, another will not be given, what you have been called to do is expected to be done by you.
There is no return or exchange policy in this regard by the Almighty.
Moses thought up excuses, Jonah tried to go a different way, both, and all who have done the same and then submitted to the will of God found what they were looking for, the face of God.
That gift, once recognized, is to be accepted, studied and prayed upon, honed to a sharp edge, used for His glory, we are not to cast it aside and ask for a different one.
The profitable servant understands these truths.
