Don't be a sundial in the shade!

“Now in this way those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust.” ~1^st Corinthians 4:2 NCV

This morning as I sit in my office looking out at the rain soaked world just outside my door I came across this quote in a book I am personally reading through each day.

Here’s the quote:

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What is a sundial in the shade?” ~Benjamin Franklin

This quote got me thinking about the gifts and talents that I am privileged to see around me, each and every day as a pastor of God’s people. Every day I am around people, young and old, who have bee extraordinarily gifted in one area or another.

However, the challenge is simply this, and that is most people I know do function in their area of giftedness!

The reality is so many of us are often living out our lives just making a living and not making an impact. Time and time again I talk with people who are frustrated, bitter, and even angry about the way the trajectory of their lives are going! Unfortunately for far too many of us we wind up finding ourselves working for a living in order to simply make ends meet instead of making an impact with the gifts and talents that God has placed in our lives!

H.B. London once said:

“The dream never stops, just the dreamer. The song never stops, just the singer!” ~Pastor and Author H.B. London

So let me ask you a few personal questions as you read through this blog today.

“Have you stopped dreaming?

“Have you simply settled for less than the best that God desires for you in this journey of life and faith?”

“Have you stopped using your gifts and talents to make a positive impact on this world that God created?”

Well, if you find yourself nodding your head to any of the above, or all of the above, then may I simply encourage you today? The truth is it is never too late to make a U-turn in the journey. After all it truly is about the journey and not the destination!

But in order to move forward, in order to make that change of direction each one of us needs to do a couple of things!

1. Make a decision to change!
2. Make a plan for change!
3. Work the plan according to God’s plans and purposes for our lives!

Now, this may seem like a very simplistic plan and a little rigid for some of us, but allow me to let you in on a little secret. No one in this journey will ever make the kind of change to living within their giftedness without a plan. The reality is as it has been said before, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Without direction we will ultimately wind up back where we started or worse for that matter.

God desires for us to use the talents and gifts he has given to us to make a difference in his church and in the world he created! But it takes a plan, bathed in prayer and wise counsel to make the kind of change that I am writing about. Personally, I do not want to be that dreamer who just let’s the dream fade away. I don’t want to be that singer (even though I cannot carry a tune) who let’s the song quietly slip away.

As Michael Jordan once said:

“Don’t live down to expectations. You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” ~ Michael Jordan NBA superstar 

Today is the day, no matter the weather, no matter the circumstances, no matter the challenges. You can do it! You can live out the purposes for your life starting with a simple decision!

Simply decide today that you are not going to be a sundial in the shade any longer!

Praying for God’s leading in all our lives…

Rev Trev