Worship Leader Blog

I just listened to an episode of the TED Talks podcast (TED is a non-profit organization devoted to "ideas worth spreading"--the acronym "TED" stands for "technology, entertainment, design." Well worth some time.) This particular episode was a talk by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life--he was talking about why his book continues to sell a million copies a month (this was in 2006) after three years, and he said it has to do with the fact that everyone eventually wonders about the purpose and meaning of their life. He referred to the story of Moses and God's call on his life--as he looked at the burning bush, God said to him, "What's that in your hand?" It was his shepherd's staff, the primary tool of his trade (Moses tended sheep). God told Moses to throw it down, and it became a snake--you know the story--and ultimately it became the tool through which God did all of the amazing things that followed in Moses' life--the plagues, the parting of the sea, etc.

Moses' staff was a symbol of who he was and what he did for a living. His willingness to do what God told him to do with it unleashed incredible power and influence in Moses' life. Pastor Warren used this story to make the point that God intends for us to use the things he gives us--the skills, the abilities, the experiences, the way we're wired. He made us this way, so why wouldn't he want us to be who we are? In fact, says Warren, God is most pleased when "you be you."

I've struggled at times with this very question of the way I'm wired--why would God wire me up this way if not for the purpose of using the way I'm wired for his purposes and glory? Warren says that when God sees one of his children doing the things he wired him or her up to do, he is pleased.

Earlier this week, I overheard some co-workers talking about the film, "Chariots of Fire," and I couldn't help but remember the scene in which Eric Liddell has a conversation with his sister, who seems a bit put off that he is pursuing his career as an Olympic runner, seemingly forestalling their plans to go to China as missionaries. He explains to her (I'm paraphrasing), "God made me for a purpose--he made me for China. But he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure."

I'm realizing (and it's taken a very long time) that the thing that pleases God the most in my life is when I do the very things that he has made me for. It's tempting, for those of us who are wired up as nerds, to think that somehow our gifts and abilities are less "spiritual" than those of people who are wired up for the more traditional spiritual professions--preachers, teachers, missionaries, etc., and to consider ourselves as being less useful for God's purposes. But the truth is that when we do the things that God uniquely wired us up to do, he is pleased.

So, what's that in your hand?

(I'm cross-posting this entry in my media blog.)