Welcome to Tuesday! It’s February 20, 2024. Ever feel you got passed over when it comes to abilities and talents? We compare ourselves with others with many more skills and wonder if we were absent from class the day God passed out gifts. However, God makes no mistakes. We can complain and pout or redouble our efforts and be faithful to develop what we were supposed to shoulder. Read on …
Today's Reading:
Numbers 7; Psalms 23; Acts 27
Scripture
“[Moses] gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required, and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required … But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites…” (Numbers 7:6-9)
Observation
I guess they could have grumbled about Moses being unfair. The Gershonites got two carts and four oxen. The Merarites got four carts and eight oxen. And the Kohathites? Zero. Nada. Zip.
However, Moses knew that the Kohathites were to carry on their shoulders the holy things for which they were responsible. In fact, if they had received any of the carts and oxen, they would have been tempted to compromise their responsibilities and take the easy route.
Application
I have caught myself comparing my net worth and abilities with others I thought were less faithful... and far less worthy! But that mistake would only lessen my motivation to develop what I have been given. The Father assigns callings, and the Holy Spirit distributes gifts accordingly. If I keep looking for more oxen and carts, I will miss what God has asked me to carry on my shoulders. These are the things that only I can do. These are the things that only I can develop.
Much of what we have comes in kit form, and we can leave them unassembled, or we can quit comparing and start developing what God has put in each of us.
1 Corinthians 12:11 reminds us in the Amplified version: "All these things - the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering - are brought about by one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as He chooses."
What we have is a gift from God. What we do with that will be our gift to God.
Prayer
Father, I am grateful and content with what I have been given. There will always be someone with more, and there will always be someone with less, so I must put my sincere efforts into developing what I have! It will take discipline, effort, and dedication, and the “easy route” will always be tempting. However, keep me from that tendency! I will keep my eyes on what You have given me and quit looking for more oxen and carts.
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