God creates us to be useful.

God makes us who He wants us to be. He determines our purpose and creates us both physically and spiritually to fit that purpose.

God chooses our hair color, our eye color, and our skin color. He determines if we are short or tall; thin or curvy. He also shapes our basic personality and determines whether we will be talkative or quiet; scheduled or spontaneous; an introvert or an extrovert; a natural leader or a follower. He chooses when, where, and to whom we will be born. None of us are mistakes.  We are created physically, just as He determines.

When we are saved, God recreates us spiritually to fit the purpose He has for us. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are a new creation – one perfectly created to perform God-assigned good works.

God chooses us to do good works.

Jesus said,

David is an example of God choosing a person to do His good works. God told the prophet Samuel to go to Jesse’s house and anoint one of his sons as the next king. Jesse brought each of his sons before Samuel. Each time Samuel looked at a son, he thought that son was a good choice. But, each time, God informed Samuel that he was not the chosen one. Finally, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons. David, the youngest and least likely choice, was called, and God said, “Arise and anoint him; for this is the one!” (1 Sam 16:12).

God has also chosen us, first to be His children and then to be His servants. He has chosen us to do certain good works. If God were looking for someone to do the work He has created you to do, and all the women in your town were brought before Him one by one, God would say, “No, No, No, this is not the one” until you were brought before Him. The minute you stepped into His presence, He would say, “Yes, this is the one I have designed and created for this task; I have chosen her.”

God assigns us to do specific tasks.

The tasks God assigns include universal commands found in Scripture: like loving others, witnessing, and ministering to those in need. Other tasks are individual and unique to our specific lives: caring for a chronically sick family member, or being a Christian influence in our work place. Some are long term: being a godly mother, friend, or wife; or becoming a missionary. Others are short term: calling a friend to encourage him or her, cooking a meal for someone, or volunteering for special events.

All tasks are important and are ways we can be useful to the Master. No task is unimportant or God would not assign it. We need to do whatever God tells us to do and trust Him to work to accomplish His purpose.

God equips us to do the work.

Hebrews 13:21 (ESV) says, God will “equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.”

God is not going to call us to a task and then leave us to ourselves to complete it. He works in us and through us to do His good will. He provides the knowledge, ability, and energy to perform the work He assigns. One of the main ways God equips us is giving us spiritual gifts. We are to use these gifts as He directs to build the body of Christ.

Different gifts, ministries, and good works are assigned to each of us as the Spirit desires; each for the purpose of us being useful to our Master. When we minister with our gift with the ability God gives us, we act as good stewards and God receives the glory (1 Pet 4:10-11).

We should not be surprised when God calls us to a task for which we feel completely ill-equipped. If God only calls us to tasks we are able to do on our own, we will not need Him to equip us. When we face challenging tasks, we can trust God to equip us. On our own, we are insufficient, but God gives us everything we need to abound in good works.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8

God holds us accountable to do the work.

Because God is the one who designs us, creates us, assigns us tasks, and equips us for those tasks, He has every right to hold us accountable.

He is our master. He deserves and requires obedience. As His servants, we are to faithfully do the tasks that He assigns. We are not to imitate or perform someone else’s tasks; we are to do the work planned for us.

We have no excuse to disobey. We cannot say, “I wasn’t able to,” because God enables us as we obey. He will produce the results He desires as we do what He tells us to do. We will give account to Him based on whether or not we follow His instructions.

To what tasks has God assigned and equipped you?

How can I encourage or pray for you in these tasks?

All Scripture is NKJV unless otherwise stated.

© Copyright by Karen Griffin 2019