I Stink at Most Things
I’m reading a book called Oikos, Your World Delivered. The author, Tom Mercer, makes a really good point early in the book. It is something that I haven’t really considered and I would bet that’s true for most of us. I stink at most everything. So do you. Can you say that? The truth is, God made us really good at very few things… for a reason. He did it so we can focus.
1 Corinthians 12:18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Are you doing what God made you good at or are you trying to do everything? We can apply this to evangelism as well. If you think it is your personal assignment to reach the whole world, you will probably reach no one. The job is simply too diverse and overwhelming for me to even wrap my mind around. God created me to reach the people around me. He has equipped me and placed me here and now for that reason.
That is what Oikos means. Literally, it is your household and more. It includes people you do life with, friends, coworkers, family, etc. Some would suggest that there are about 8-15 people in your oikos. Do you know who they are? Who are the people that God has strategically placed in your life, in your circle of influence? He custom made you to have an impact on their eternity.
Go do what God created you for.
I have spent a lot of time looking at meekness in the last year or so. It means “strength under control”. I realized that I am hardly aware of my strenghts so how can I control them? And how can I love the Lord my God with all my strength if I don’t even know what it is or I spend my days envying your strength. I have been too focused on my weeknesses!
I thank God for showing me that I do not need to be strong in/good at everything. If I am a hand and I am trying to act like a foot I am upsidedown and dysfunctional. How productive is it for me to spend my days condemning myself for not being a foot? In Judges 6 God told Gideon to “go in the strenth that is yours.” He has placed me in the body exactly where He wants me. I need to trust that (faith), look forward to what He will do with & through me in this life and keep my eyes on the prize (hope), and I need to go in my strength serving my fellow body members with His love.
For God has not given me the spirit of fear but of power (strength), and of love (how I should use my strength, “a better way”) and of a sound mind (to help me control my strength).
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