Our Assignments

I write to you because I love you, I value your opinions and thoughts, and I seek to share what I feel God puts on my heart on occasion. I would love to share with you what God puts on your heart…through these posts or other personal inspirations of yours.

Tonight I have been thinking about the Holy Spirit in each of us—the same Spirit, yet each has different duties or parts to one body (Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12:3-8, and many more). I suddenly realized how immaterial it is that I have the specific talents and abilities that I do. And how immaterial that I have the limitations that I do—the things that I’m not as “gifted” at. Think about yourself—who are you? When I first answer this question, at some point I begin to focus on and list the things that I do well and the things I don’t. Who I am as the sum of my abilities and limitations. Then I realized how obviously different that could be, or could have been. Why should I be good at this, and you good at that? It could have just as easily been the other way. I tend to give way to the common thought that God will take me, my abilities and limitations, and in His flexibility somehow use me for His purpose, according the ability I happen to have. This is established by observation—but don’t be misled. Although the observation is true—that God is using me as exactly who I am and where I am, and He will always do the same with you and anyone willing to be used—the original statement is incorrect because it indicates causality that is the converse of reality.

The epiphany is that many of us have it backwards. Why are you just exactly as you are? Were you made and developed in a certain way, and then assigned to be a specific part of the Body of Christ because of it? Not exactly. I believe we were first assigned, and then equipped. I was not equipped and then therefore assigned to duty based upon my limitations or abilities—“Well, how can I use this man? He can’t do this, but he can do that, so I’ll have him do that.” Incorrect. I think it’s more, “[Your Name], I have chosen to use you for this, so I will equip you for it.” My limitations and abilities are nothing in themselves—they are not the cause or the driver for what I can and am to do for God. Rather, they are the result of what God has assigned me to do. 1 Cor 12:13 says that the same single Spirit gives gifts to all, “distributing to each one individually as He wills.” As He wills. I have nothing God hasn’t already given me, and the things He has given me He has willed according to His perfect plan.

Who I am when I think of my talents and abilities is not who I am at all: Does a mechanic think of himself as a wrench or as a ratchet? No, he is a mechanic with specific tools for the job. He does not say one day, “I have this wrench, how can I use it?” Then suddenly become a mechanic. No, he becomes a mechanic and then is given the wrench to do his job. I think God has made us “mechanics,” etc. for His Kingdom, then having done that He has said, “Here is a wrench and the tools you’ll need to do this for me.” Shall I brag, “Look at my wrench! It is shiny and new, it is strong and useful!” No, for it is useless in of itself unless used for its intended purpose. And shall I brag when I have done the Master’s work with that tool? Moreso than for the wrench itself, but not because I have done it—I have done nothing that the Master couldn’t have done Himself or through another of my peers with the training I received and the tools I was given. We were once interchangeable, in theory, for we know that God formed us Himself in our mothers’ wombs (Jer 1:5, Isaiah 49:5, Psalm 139:13-16). We could have been anyone or anything, yet with the specific duty we’ve been entrusted and the necessary tools with which we’ve been equipped as a result, by God Himself, we now have a specific purpose and must set out to diligently work with God towards that purpose. If I boast, I boast in the master plan and the Master Planner, and in that alone (1 Cor 1:26-30). I myself, am nothing. A thought of joy is acknowledging that I am nothing on my own, but by God’s love for me, He has included me in His work and has equipped me to do His very own purpose! Joy is sharing that purpose with God, not finding out how God’s purpose fits into what I believe to be my own.

Now, back to the question, “I have this wrench. How can I use it?” That may very well be the attitude we need to take in order to first work toward our assignment. The distinction is that the tool did not dictate the job—the job dictated the tool. Our abilities and limitations do not dictate our roles in the Kingdom. Our roles in the Kingdom dictate the tools we are blessed with—the spiritual gifts we have been given, or more aptly, permanently loaned.

The act of using those gifts for Him is as much or more of His preferred will for our lives as the individual activities that we will engage in. We often think of life and God’s will as the next thing or things we should do—but I believe engaging in behavior that uses our gifts of the Spirit for His purpose is His will. The distinction is this: what if we stop trying to figure out which specific tasks we should do next and instead dedicate ourselves to using our gifts in the tasks and opportunities laid before us this very day? I have a feeling that soon enough, we’ll be right in the place God wants to use us. If we “blindly” dedicate ourselves to represent God and exercise the gifts he’s given us every day, then we will be His influence and ambassador to those around us before we even realize it. If we try to see the way and make logical decisions based upon our limited human foresight, we have likely ceased using our gifts at all times and are trying to choose where to use them and where not to. What if we let God choose? What if we commit our lives to daily work for Him and let God do the planning? If our concern is being who and where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there—then this approach is actually the most effective way. It is the way to the most joyful realization of our purpose for God—it is the way of putting ourselves last, as God’s gifts and purpose become first.