Today’s Reading, 1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4
Focal Scripture: 1 Kings 7:14 “He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.”
When you are gifted by the Lord with skills they need to be out to work for the kingdom of God. I need to make a specification here for a moment because this topic gets confused often. I believe that everyone is naturally gifted in some area of their life. This might be in the arts, academics, sports, or even in service. These natural gifts are often something that comes naturally or easy to the person who has them. They can often go overlooked because it doesn’t fit a certain mold or style that the world expects. Then there are gifts given by the spirit. Sometimes these spiritual gifts intersect with natural talents. Other times they do not in a persons life.
A spiritual gift is a gift granted by the Lord to further the kingdom. It might be a talent that one already has that can be used for God’s glory. However, it might be another gifting all together. For instance, a person might have a natural talent at planning and scheduling but God has given them a spiritual gift of hospitality. There might be a little overlap but their spiritual gift is serving God’s people and making them feel welcome.
In today’s reading we see Hiram using his skill to elevate the kingdom of God. He was able to glorify the Lord is his ability to build with bronze and it showed up in the temple. This gifting was a natural talent but then it was expounded on by the Lord. He let his gots do the work and it was evident for all to see in his life.
The challenge that we have as believers is to use our natural skills and gifts to glorify the Lord. Again, sometimes these will overlap and sometimes they will not. What we must do as believers is to never tell God no when we have the opportunity to serve him, even if it doesn’t make any sense to us at the moment. Think how Hiram must have felt by being gifted with bronze. He probably thought of himself as ordinary. However, God used that gift to make something beautify and amazing.
What the Lord wants from you and from me is to use our talents and gifts for the Lord. Don’t listen to those around you who want to out you in a box and demean your talents or even how you think. I have been their and those individuals are the ones who need to learn to submit to the Lord.
In my life the people who want to box you up are usually the least happy. They want to limit you because they will not give God their all in their personal walk. So whatever skill you have submit it to the Lord and watch him do a great work in your life, the church, and in the world.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 1 Kings 8 & 2 Chronicles 5
