His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Matthew 25:21 & 23 NIV ©2010
The parable of the talents has been an intriguing one to me for a long time. Many people over the years have said that as you cultivate what God gives you He will give you more, whether that me money, talents, gifts, or anything else. I’ve often wondered what would happen if God gave someone more than they could possibly cultivate as one person.
Sometimes I feel like that kind of person. God has blessed me with an understanding and gifts in many different areas including music, technology, writing, and mathematics. Some of my leaders over the years have even said that it’s hard being as talented as I am. I’m not sharing this to inflate my ego, but to say that it is a struggle.
There have been seasons of my life that I really wanted to do one thing as a career, but there was never an open door to pursue that desire. I found myself feeling stuck using other gifts I have been blessed with that did not seem to bring me as much joy. Some of the careers that I though I wanted didn’t even have much to do with my talents and gifts, I just liked doing them.
Over the past month I have been thinking about all the things I am involved in and how I often feel tired. I’m not tired because I do too much, but because very little of it is fulfilling to me. It’s more or less a bunch of activities that I give myself to without getting much, if anything in return. This is a great atmosphere to find burnout. There are a few things that fill me up and serve others at the same time that I plan to do more of. To be able to do that, I have to let go of some things that, although I love doing, drain me.
If I’ve counted correctly, I am being pulled in eight different directions by the things I am involved in. It’s no wonder I am tired and confused. This week I am going to start to phase out of one of those things. Over the next few months, I hope to find discernment in another area that I need to let go of. Right now, that’s the only way I know how to start making sense of what I’m going to do with my life and what God has given me. This should also help me better understand what my core gifts and passions are. Those core gifts and passions are what I need to cultivate rather than every little thing that I’m interested in.
The decisions I make over the next few years will affect how God’s calling for me plays out the rest of my life. A good friend of mine recommended a book by Robert Clinton called The Making of a Leader. In the book, Clinton talks about the stages of life in leaders, and I happen to be in the “trying to figure out my life” stage. I hope to pick up that book soon.
Right now I need to continually be seeking the voice of God. If I can be in tune with His will now, I won’t be stressed about bigger decisions that are bound to come in the future because I will already be hearing His voice.