My dad was a tailor – excuse me – a master tailor. He was the best and he believed how good he was. It was his gift, a true calling.
Sewing clothes presented many opportunities for my dad to meet and minister to people. He never preached to them, but he shared his knowledge and his heart. He had many customers, including some that decided to go elsewhere. Some of those that left chose another tailor because they were “well known”, not necessarily because they were better. Of course, it was upsetting for him to lose customers to someone else, especially when he’d taken the time to get to know them and perfect their preferences.
One thing I noticed, though, was that this never altered what my dad knew of himself. He knew what he was gifted to do and people walking away didn’t stop or change that. I’m sure he became discouraged a time or twelve, but he never quit, and he always reminded us of how good he was and how great we could be.
See Yourself As God Sees You. Believe Him.
Now, this is not about my dad. Nope, it’s about you. Never let people walking away cause you to forget who God created you to be. Never let others who forget what you’re capable of make you neglect your gift. Believe in what God has deposited into you.
Yes, I have had moments where I have allowed outside factors to cause me to want to quit. And, I have had to think back, for myself, to recall what I was taught. In fact, I decided to share this because I had moments where I felt what I do wasn’t as important due to circumstances and people that I cannot control. I sat and thought about how I watched my father prove himself to be all that God called him to be.
So, What’s the Play Call?
It gets rough when it seems that someone else is better at what you do, but remember that nobody can get it done the way you can! Here are a few things to keep in mind when it feels like everyone is going elsewhere:
- You were called before the world was framed. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
- Don’t let the actions of others change your perspective of yourself. My dad could have operated according to those who chose another tailor, but he never wavered. Let God tell you who you are. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
- Never give up on your gift. What God has placed within you, nobody else has. It’s like your fingerprint and the number of hairs on your head, identical to no one else. “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalms 139:14
- Endure. Yep, through all the rough times, walkaways, everything. Endure. “Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 2:3
The moral of my story is for you to never forget who God has gifted you to be. You were called and specifically chosen to do what God has called you to do.
It is difficult to believe or accept a religous claim that God has any positive regard for mankind at all! As human beings are the most destructive and self destructive species on the planet; just on grounds on our failed stewardship of creation we are ‘condemned’. And the absence of divine wisdom also denies any Imago Dei, which was probably lost at the Fall and that true spiritual and moral conception has yet to be recovered by any theology ever invented.