I am reading through Proverbs again as I have for several years. Today is the 20th of January, so I turned to Proverbs 20. Just in the first few verses, I found so many applications to my life and things I have been learning as I have been reading A Certain Risk by Paul Richardson.
The verse that really caught my attention today was Proverbs 20:5. It says "A plan in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out." I think this verse really applies to what I am reading in A Certain Risk. It encourages people to take the risk to be creative and do what the Lord has placed in our heart in order to serve Him. We all have something down deep in our heart that we can do, to express who we are in order to serve the Lord in some way. Writing is a good example of having a plan in our heart, then drawing it out by getting it in written form. Sometimes we have things we don't ever pull out and use for God's glory! Another example is art or photography. It does take time, but if we use our gifts, we will be blessed, so will other people! The second part of this verse says that a man of understanding draws it out. Drawing out what we have deep down demonstrates that we understand what the Lord desires from us, to use the gifts He has given each of us. An act of obedience results when we truly understand His word!
In Ephesians chapter 4 where Paul the apostle writes about us using our gifts that we should pull out and use. He says in verse 7," But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. He goes on to say in verse 12, these gifts are "for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ." Verse 16 says in the second part"...according to the proper working of each individual part, CAUSES the GROWTH of the body for the BUILDING UP OF ITSELF IN LOVE!" So drawing out what we have deep down, causes growth, builds the body of Christ in love! I hope this can inspire those who read my blog to be creative, use your gifts and love what you do, love to build the body of Christ!
Have a great day!
Thank you Becca. This is inspiring to me. I struggle from day to day to know how to use my gifts for God. The reality of it is that I don't have to understand how He's going to use them. I just need to surrender them to Him and not be ashamed of what He has given me. Thanks for the inspiration.
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