The Lord has more in mind for you than you have in mind for yourself.
- Focus on others
- Discover and develop spiritual gifts
- Make use of adversity
- Rely on God
While some gifts may not be prominently acknowledged by the world they are essential in the plan of the Lord.
Our adversity may reveal our spiritual strengths and the areas where we can best serve.
Sin is our greatest stumbling block.
“It is God’s work. I’m like a pencil. God does the thinking and the writing, the pencil has nothing to do with it. It only had to be available to be used.” Mother Theresa
To Moses, God declared, “I have a work for thee.” Have you ever wondered if Heavenly Father has a work for you? Are there important things He has prepared you—and specifically you—to accomplish? I testify the answer is yes!
How many people feel that they know what their work is?
President Russell M. Nelson explained:
“The Lord has more in mind for you than you have in mind for yourself! You have been reserved and preserved for this time and place. …
“The Lord needs you to change the world. As you accept and follow His will for you, you will find yourself accomplishing the impossible!”
So how do we come to understand and perform the work God intends for us? Let me share four principles that will help.
- Focus on others.
- One family moved to a new city. Instead of finding a home in an affluent neighborhood, they felt impressed to locate to an area with considerable social and economic needs.
- A medical professional maintained a typical practice but felt guided to set aside one day each week to provide free care to individuals with no health insurance.
- Discover and develop spiritual gifts.
- So how do we come to know our gifts? We can reference our patriarchal blessing, ask those who know us best, and personally identify what we are naturally good at and enjoy. Most important, we can ask God.
- One day, a discouraged sister pleaded, “Lord, what is my personal ministry?” He answered, “Notice others.” It was a spiritual gift! Since then, she has found joy in noticing those who are regularly forgotten, and God has worked through her to bless many.
- Make use of adversity.
- After a successful human resources executive was laid off, he read his patriarchal blessing and felt inspired to start a company to help other professionals find employment. The Lord used his trial as a stepping-stone to bless others, while providing him with a more meaningful career.
- Rely on God.
- One brother, concerned with local government decisions, felt impressed to run for public office. Despite a daunting campaign process, he exercised faith and gathered the resources to run. Ultimately, he did not win but felt the Lord gave him guidance and strength to raise issues important to the community.
If we look for ways that we can help others we are more likely to find out personal niche. This may be especially true in adversity.
Sin is perhaps our greatest stumbling block, dulling our sensitivity to the Holy Ghost and restricting our access to spiritual power. To perform the work Heavenly Father has for us, we must strive to be clean. Are we living in such a way that God can work through us?
Satan discourages us with feelings of inadequacy. He makes our work appear too difficult or intimidating. However, we can trust God! He loves us. He wants us to succeed.
As God works through us, the adversary may tempt us to take credit for any accomplishments. However, we can emulate the Savior’s humility by deflecting personal praise and glorifying the Father. When a reporter tried to recognize Mother Teresa for her life’s mission to help the poor, she retorted: “It’s [God’s] work. I am like a … pencil in his hand. … He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used.”
My beloved brothers and sisters, I invite each of us to “yield [ourselves] unto God … as instruments of righteousness.” Yielding ourselves involves letting Him know we want to be of use, seeking His direction, and accessing His strength.
Leave a Reply