Are You a Craftsman?

Exodus 31:1-11

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!

6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:

7 the Tabernacle;
the Ark of the Covenant;
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
8 the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
10 the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
11 the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.

The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”

What I find very comforting here is that gives gifts to each of us. Some are gifted in the area of finance, some in public speaking, some in teaching, some in dealing with people and some in crafts. Basically, God gives gifts to those as He sees fit to give. I do not have a gift for working on mechanical things. I am not a handyman when it comes to carpentry or to working on a vehicle. I praise God for those who are gifted in those areas because they take care of the things I am not good at.

When you go on to read the rest of Exodus and you see the detail in what God had planned for the construction of what He listed in verses 7-11 above you can see that it would take those like Bezalel and Oholiab to complete the work. God would not have asked me to construct those things. He has gifted me in other areas. Just last night our furnace wasn't working properly and I sat and looked at it and could not figure out what was going on. I called a neighbor who is in that field and over the phone he had me do two simple things and the furnace was working again. That is the wisdom of God flowing through that person to assist me in an area that I am not gifted in.

It is no surprise that God used the word wisdom when discribing what He had gifted these men with. A definition of wisdom is that one is skillfull. One truly does need to have wisdom to be skillfull. Since true wisdom starts with fearing God, one can tell where a persons wisdom comes from. The devil does try to imitate the wisdom from God, but all his wisdom is good for is to detract, disguise, deceive, destroy or detour people from following God's plan for their lives. You can tell the difference between the two.

Another area where you can tell the gifting from God is in the area of musical talent. As Keith Moore says, "Everyone should sing, but not all should record." There are so many people that God has gifted in the area of music. Some use their talent for the purpose of furthering God's Kingdom here on earth and some use it to lead people towards destruction.

My questions for you today would be these:

Have you identified what area God has gifted you in?
If so, are you working and using those giftings for God?
If not, why not?

If you ask Him to show you or reveal to you what He has gifted you to do He will show you. It may be through the Word it may be through another person. Listen and He will direct you. Once you have identified those areas where God has gifted you, ask Him how you can use those giftings to serve Him. It may be a new profession, it may be a volunteer opportunity to serve at your church or it may be a revelation that what you are doing now can be used to serve Him.

Heavenly Father, I thank You that You give gifts to each us and that those gifts are designed to serve You. I know that You have created me the way I am to be doing the things that I am doing to serve You fully and completely. All that I am is because of Your love for me. You know my beginning and my end and everything in between. You know the numbers of hairs on my head, even if I try to conceal them by shaving them. You have given me specific gifts and talents to be used to serve You and carry out Your plan here on earth. Holy Spirit continue to guide me and direct me as to where and what I need to do to follow His plan for my life and how to use the talents He has given me to their maximum effect for His Kingdom. I praise You this day, the last day of 2008. I thank You that Your direct for me to start the new year is to get into areas of the Word I have not been before. I praise You for leading me, directing me, creating me and gifting me to serve You. In Jesus name, Amen.