By Rev Clifford Chisha
God has given individuals different and diverse abilities. The pitfall comes when one begins to focus more on his weaknesses rather than appreciating his strengths.
No person was born empty.
The abilities God has deposited into our lives are for the purpose of fulfilling our mission on earth (as individuals), to contribute to the building of the body of Christ, to help us earn a living and to help others.
Abilities causes us to do certain things very well and without struggling.
We shall look at the three categories of the abilities the living God has given to individuals.
They include:
√ Talents
√ General abilities
√ Spiritual Gifts.
Your talents, Spiritual gifts and general abilities matches your personality.
EXODUS 31:1-5
1 “Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts
4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.”
EXODUS 31:1-5
1 “Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts
4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.”
- Talent: Natural endowment or ability a person is born with.
- Spiritual Gifts: Divine ability given to a believer (born again-Christian) for the purpose of equipping the saints for works of service and edifying (or building) the body of Christ.
- General Abilities: These are abilities which are given by God but do not fall under talents and spiritual gifts.
They include abilities given to people who are available.
When God wants to accomplish something, He looks for the available person and empower him/her with abilities to accomplish the task at hand.
In the portion of scripture under consideration, God revealed to Moses the plan He had for the tabernacle.
After giving His servant the tabernacle plan, God raised Bezalel and filled him with the Spirit of God, unique ability and intelligence, skill and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.
What took Joseph to the position of Prime Minister in a foreign nation was the grace and plan of God, and the vehicle that took him there was his ability to interpret dreams.
√Do not look down on the abilities God has given you, it has the potential to bring your elevation.
√Imagine what would have happened had Joseph not used his ability to interpret dreams.
√Most likely, there were many people who had the ability to interpret dreams but did not value it.
√Do you value the abilities (talents, spiritual gifts and general abilities) God has given you?
√I knew a person who became president of a nation, not because he was very educated or rich, but because he was a very good orator.
He had the ability to articulate issues well, yes, he was very eloquent.
“When you discover the abilities God has given, you polish them and use them well, education just becomes an added advantage and a tool to help you rise above others and shine.”
√I knew a person who had the ability to mobilise people and identify himself with their sufferings who became president of a certain nation.
“Education comes to empower your God given abilities.”
√Your greatest assets are the abilities God has given you.
Use them wisely.
√Your vehicles and houses can be taken away, but your God given abilities cannot be taken away.
√I know a certain journalist who has the ability to persuade different people to board his business chariot and to pay for what he offers them for free.
In Exodus 31:1-5, God told Moses that He had chosen Bezalel and filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.
God gave Moses the tabernacle plan but chose and gave unique abilities to Bezalel.
Why did God do that?
- Moses was a lead leader. God respects protocol and He wanted Moses to provide leadership.
- The other reason could be that God knew that Moses’ abilities were not adequate to get the work done.
He had to give another person the ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts/artistic designs.
Moses had the ability to mobilise, Bezalel had the ability to do artistic works.
√Teamwork and networking are vital in achieving great things.
Moses, Bezalel and other people combined their abilities well and accomplished what God wanted them to accomplish.
God chose Bezalel when famous men like Joshua, Aaron and Caleb were there.
√If you want certain projects to be done well, do not go for names (popularity),go for abilities.
That’s what God did.
When it comes to the distribution of abilities, no one is disadvantaged.
Do not focus on your weaknesses.
Some people have wasted time working on their weaknesses at the expense of their strengths.
If your weakness leads to sin, please, work on it.
Those are not the weaknesses am talking about.
There are normal weaknesses, for example, one may not be good at mobilising people but a good orator.
One may be very innovative but not good at mobilising resources and implementation.
The fact that you are not good in one or two areas does not mean you are bad or a failure.
All you need is to discover areas where you are good.
Don’t focus on areas where you are not good, you will end up being frustrated.
You cannot be good at everything.
When we look at Bible characters, sometimes we think they had no weaknesses.
Each one of them had, but most of them focused so much on their strengths and not weaknesses.
David was a great warrior and king but he had weaknesses, Samson was a great judge and a man of amazing strength but had weaknesses.
The list can go on and on.
If you focus so much on your weaknesses, you will lead a frustrated life.
“If you discover your strengths, polish them and use them well, you will have a very stable ladder.”
“What makes you tick are your abilities (strengths) and not weaknesses. Strengthen your strengths.”
JUDGES 6:12
When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
Whenever Israel planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
They impoverished Israel.
A man by the name of Gideon was hiding his crops from the enemies.
He was threshing wheat in a wine press.
It was this man who was afraid of the Midianites and was hiding his wheat from the enemy who was addressed by the angel of the LORD as mighty warrior.
He was a mighty man of valor who didn’t know he had the ability to confront and defeat the Midianites.
√The solutions to the problems/challenges your firm, family or church is facing are hidden in your abilities.
Are you hiding when you are the one who has solutions?
When this might warrior was given an assignment to save (deliver) Israel from the hand of Midian,he gave excuses.
He said, “…My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and am the least in my father’s house.
√When you discover your abilities (what you are capable of doing), you will avoid giving certain excuses.
Gideon gave excuses because he had not yet discovered his ability or his strength.
It’s cardinal to discover your abilities.
How can you discover your abilities?
- Ask the people who have known you for many years to sincerely tell you your strengths (the things you do well without struggling).
Further, ask yourself and find answers to the questions below:
- What makes me tick?
- What do I do without struggling?
- What brings real satisfaction when I do it?
- What is my personality type?
Each personality type comes with abilities e.g Cholerics are extroverts who are focused, goal oriented and achievers.
They make great leaders and army generals or commanders.
- Sanguines are extroverts who are very social, fun and loving. They have the ability to talk a lot.
They make good HR officers, evangelists and ushers.
- Melancholy are introverts who are artistic and ‘naturally gifted.’
-
Phlegmatic are introverts who are stable, consistent and loyal.
Discover your abilities or strengths, list them down and work on them, you will tick.
Strengthen your strengths, you will achieve a lot.
