Don’t Neglect Your Divine Assignment
Recently I re-read a sentence from Horace Bushnell which I had underlined in one of my books, several years ago. His statement is the reminder that “somewhere under the stars God has a job for you to do and nobody else can do it.”
This is true of not just a few, but real of every redeemed child of His. Along with the bestowal of the gift of salvation in and through Christ, God also dispenses spiritual abilities, not to be used for one’s private benefit, but for the building up of His Church. As Jean-Pierre de Caussade had stated in his classic, “The Sacrament of the Present Moment,” “when we walk with God, his will directs us and must replace every other guidance.”
God makes His will known via the specific gifts He individually bestows on everyone to ensure that Christ’s followers discharge His specific assignment to each. And it is through the fulfillment of different duties that God’s work on earth is accomplished. His plan is to utilize those whom He has equipped for a unique task!
Every child of God has been placed on earth to perform some work, even if the audience is of only One, namely, God Himself. Dr. M. Craig Barnes recognized that “the most important thing we do in responding to the call of God is to show up. We don’t have to be certain. We don’t have to be the best. We don’t even have to want to be there.” Yet, in obedience, we’d better be affirmative toward His promptings for only so can we experience genuine satisfaction in the sphere where God has placed us!
With every unique project God assigns to each of His own, there emerge unexpected abilities, unlimited power from His Holy Spirit, and clear direction for its execution. Instead of fatigue and discouragement, God’s work is accomplished “with a minimum of effort and a maximum of effectiveness,” not to mention the untold, personal satisfaction one derives from it!
The late Christoph Blumhardt, from his understanding of Scripture, and through his long years of involvement in Kingdom labors, recognized that “God has work that has to be done in work clothes, not in one’s Sunday best.” In other words, most of the toil the Lord expects of His servants is not limited to Sundays only, nor is it confined to church premises. It is carried out every day of the week, wherever His people are scattered in society.
Christ’s contemporary disciples need to recognize that they are God’s agents on earth, for the salvation and betterment of a broken humanity. To the extent that spiritual gifts are discovered, developed and deployed, God’s work shall be fulfilled and countless lives will be positively impacted, not just for a season but for all eternity!
The clock is ticking fast; precious time is fleeing away! What do you have to show at the end of any day? Before you least expect, your earthly journey will be over. What shall your legacy be? As the old saying still reminds us: “only a life, ’twill soon be past; only what is done for Christ will last!” Thus, keep your priorities straight; don’t neglect your divine assignment! God will daily empower you for every good deed. As Patrick M. Morley challenges, “God will work through you if you offer Him your hands to serve, your mind to think, and your lips to speak.”
