Use Your Gifts for God

​Have you ever wondered what your God-given gift is?  Have you taken spiritual gifts test to try and get an idea of what your special talent is?  I have, and while they are helpful, they don’t always accurately assess who you and what your strengths and weakness are.  Also, sometimes our God-give gifts are not as obvious as the ones listed on the tests, but rather subtle and seemingly mundane.  

​Today as we look at Exodus 36, we are going to see men who had been given a special gift by God for a specific purpose.  But I guarantee that they didn’t originally view their gift as a divine ability.  Rather, they would have simply thought it was a knack they had, something they had been trained in, or a skill that was part of their upbringing.  However, according to the Bible, these skills and talents did not come from mere happen-chance or life experience, but from God.  Who were these men?  The craftsmen who built the Tabernacle of Almighty God.

“And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.”
~Exodus 36:2

​The craftsmen of Israel most likely thought their abilities came from their education.  Their fathers may have been craftsmen and passed on the legacy, or the rulers in Egypt may have chosen that career path for them.  However, no matter their previous life experience, we see that ultimately God is the one who put that skill in them.  They became craftsmen not by chance, but by divine appointment.  Their abilities were not the mere product of upbringing but gifts from God.  And God had a project from these men to use their gifts for His house.
 
But notice that the craftsmen needed to have a willing heart.  They were not forced into or compelled to work on the Tabernacle.  God was not requiring them to put their time quota in.  On the contrary, only those who were willing and felt moved to donate their time on the project would work on building God’s house.
 
In light of this, what are your God-given gifts?  Have you considered the skills you have?  Do you view all that you can do—physically, mentally, academically, and artistically—as abilities given you by God? And how will you use the skills, talents, and gifts God has given you?
 
God doesn’t require any of us to use the gifts He has given us for His Kingdom.  We could use them to build our own kingdom and create success in the world.  However, God does invite us to partner with Him in the work He is doing.  We have an open invitation to use the gifts God has put in us to further His Kingdom and build His Church—the new tabernacle not built by human hands but built in the hearts of men and women.
 
So how will you use the abilities and gifts God has given you? 
 
Although the Israelites had made a lot of mistakes throughout their Exodus journey, they got this thing right.  They all willingly gave their time and resources to the building of God’s house.  The craftsmen meticulously labored on the building and designing of the Tabernacle according to the plans God had given them, while the people contributed resources and time helping these specially appointed men.
 
The next four chapters are devoted to sharing the details on how the Tabernacle was built.  This shows that God sees and notices all the details.  The Bible doesn’t just say that the Israelites built the Tabernacle and the work was complete.  No, God had Moses give a very detailed account of how the Tabernacle was built, all the way down to the rings that joined the curtains together.  No action went unnoticed; no element was insignificant.
 
God sees the details.  He is not oblivious to the seemingly small things done for His glory.  All is seen and known and valued.  So no matter where you are, no matter how mundane or insignificant the task may seem, use your God-given abilities to glorify God and build His Church; God will look down from heaven and notice your contributions, no matter how small.  And He will bless you for your labor.
 
The Israelites completed the Tabernacle according to the directions God gave Moses, and Moses blessed them.  When we go about our work and complete it according to the guidelines God gives us, we will be blessed in our doing.  So go out and use your God-given gifts to further the Kingdom of God!

“According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work.  And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.”
~Exodus 39:42-43