Beanbags & Bicycles

 

Did you know that God has given you talents? He’s given you passions, gifts, talents and unique characters to be able to bring the best out of them!

 

Last year I bought a new bicycle, I decided that it was about time I started to get a bit fitter. But what happened instead was that this brand new bicycle was used about 3 or 4 times and then left in the shed. In fact when I moved house to Knaphill the bike didn’t even come with me.

 

I had this incredible bike to use and enjoy just sitting there in my parents shed whilst I sat lazily around on beanbags becoming unfit and letting it get flat tyres and dusty.

 

In the Bible there’s a guy called David. You may have heard about him when he killed the giant Goliath with just a sling and a stone! He also later became king. David started off as a shepherd, he was a man who cared deeply for his sheep and was faithful with what his dad, Jesse, had asked him to do. He had very good shepherding skills – he fought off the threats from animals and remained loyal to the sheep when everyone else left.

 

In 1 Samuel 22 v 23 we find David, the now warrior, on the run from the existing king Saul. Another man, Ahimelech (good job if you can pronounce that name!), is also on the run.

 

What skills and gifts David learnt and used as a shepherd were still applicable as a warrior. As this man came to him for help his shepherding heart went out to him. He said, “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

 

David understood that God hadn’t given him this new bicycle (shepherding gift) to sit in the shed and sit around on beanbags all day. God had given him a gift to use. He wasn’t in the same place as he was before, out in the fields with sheep, but he had the same gifts and same passion – protect and look out for.

 

God’s given you passions and gifts to use, whether it’s spiritual gifts like healing or prophecy or whether it’s passions like befriending people and helping the poor, God’s given them to use.

 

Don’t sit around on your beanbag all day! Get up and use that bike sitting in your shed!

 

Nath