February 9th,
2003
Be All That You
Can Be
"Opportunity is missed by most because it
is dressed in overalls and looks like work" -Thomas Edison
Inspiration comes in many forms and today’s
message has to do with some struggles that I have had lately in my personal and
professional life. I was telling a close friend of mine that I felt I was
cheating when using experiences from my own life situations, but he said that
it is OK, what – or who - do I know better than myself and my own situation?
What better way to teach than telling how God’s word works for you (me)?
The fact is, that God loves us regardless of
where we are at, but that He has expectations for us.
So, what are God's expectations for us? What
does He want us to do? How do we apply who we are into this world and into this
life in loving, caring and kind ways that will connect us with our destiny and
what we are created to do? How do we discover our calling?
Begin by asking yourself a few questions, for
example:
1. What
am I deeply passionate about?
2. What
do I do well?
3. What
energizes me?
4. Where
have I received praise or affirmation in the past?
5. What
is my heart telling me?
6. What
is God calling me to?
In James 1:5-8 it says: “If you want to know
what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is
always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will
not resent it. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to tell
you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is
driven and tossed by the wind, and every decision you then make will be
uncertain, as you turn first this way, and then that. If you don’t ask with
faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.”
The actions of our faith are not to win favour
with God - we already have that. We often get stuck in life. We are afraid of
moving forward but we are scared to stay the same and miss our destiny or
calling.
Our minds can often get us stuck and the “rut”
or the limitations that we sometimes get confined in are related to how we
think about life…and, by extension, how we think about life often become life –
Do what you’ve always done and you’ll get what
you have always got!
I pray that there is – in all of us - a sense
of holy unrest and evaluation of who we are and where we are; what is the place
where we really discover where we can serve and love others and in doing so
discover our destiny. This is a call to conscious servant hood so that we do
not just go through life as a numb automaton - just doing what we think we are
supposed to do. Surely there are more fulfillments and more juice to life than
just existing, just getting through.
I want to plant a seed in all of us – a seed
to look for how all us can be more. We ARE pure capacity for God. Every
single one of us can be more. There is potential within us and we are not
maximized in terms of our abilities and capacity for God's delight for service
and fulfillment. We all need to be provoked at times to come to a new place.
It is amazing what happens when you follow
God's lead. God never calls us to a fair battle. He never calls us to something
that is easy to do within our own strength.
How often don’t we struggle with our esteem,
circumstances that don't seem to match up, feeling like we are less than, not qualified,
or that someone else can do it better? God is calling to each of us to really
fill up our lives and maximize the potential we have. A big part of life is
discovering our talents and utilizing them to the best of our ability. Figure
out what your talents are. What will you do with the gifts God has given you?
We are called to know and to use our talents. In Matthew 25:14-18 we find a
parable of talents telling us clearly that if you don’t use it – loose it!
A lot of us feel that we are not that smart,
intelligent, clever or that we don't have that much to offer. We tend to
compare ourselves with people with bigger and brighter gifts and therefore feel
paralysed. We tell ourselves that that person or that one can do it much better
than we can – and so we do nothing. We don't get engaged in the sense of
calling that God has for us. The parable tells us to find out what our gifts
and talents are and to use them.
Father Pat, an Irish Priest said it this way:
“Everybody
Knows:
You can't be all
things to all people.
You can't do all
things at once.
You can't do all
things equally well.
You can't do all
things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is
showing just like everyone else's.
So:
You have to find out
who you are, and be that.
You have to decide
what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover
your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not
to compete with others,
Because no one else is
in the contest of *being you*.
Then:
You will have learned
to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned
to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned
to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to
give yourself the respect that is due.
And you'll be a most
vital mortal.
Dare To Believe:
That you are a
wonderful, unique person.
That you are a
once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a
right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a
problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And we'll be able to
stay one up on what used to get us.
May God bless you and
keep you safe,”
Father Pat
It is by
serving that we discover a sense of our own destiny. It is not just by being or
by getting.
Ultimately we discover significance through
love -the love that God has given us that we can give to others through the
very unique gifts and talents that we have as individuals. The parable in
Matthew’s chapter 25 is a warning as well as an invitation.
We need to challenge the 'stuckness' in our
lives and discover our destiny and how we can serve.
And by that “be all
that we can be”.
Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do
with it is your gift back to God.
Let us pray:
Our Father in
Heaven, This is the beginning of a new day. You have given us this
day to use as
you will. We can waste it or use it for good. What we do today is important
because we are exchanging a day of our lives for it. When tomorrow comes, this
day will be gone forever; in its place is something that we have left
behind...let it with Your help be something useful and good.
In the name of
Jesus Christ, AMEN.
With
Thanks to Senior Pastor Tom Morris, Westside King’s Church, Calgary for many
inspiring thoughts on this subject.
Anne
Jorgensen.
Anne Jorgensen
February 9, 2003