Here’s the third in my current series of devotionals on woodworking. Keep coming back as I’ll be posting a new thought each week!
Where others are talented with tools, I am hopeless when it comes to working with wood. I have no patience or skills. Years ago, I tried to make a three-legged wooden stool as a shop project but it ended up as a boot scraper! My daughter is at the other end of the spectrum. Using equipment at the school shop, she lovingly cut strips of wood from eight different types of trees and formed them into a single mosaic of beauty, a cutting board that I proudly display in my kitchen.
When God told Moses to make the ark for the tabernacle and carve the implements to be used at the altar, God also supplied the people with the skills to accomplish the task. Moses, after all, had been raised as a prince in the palace of Egypt’s pharaoh. What did he know about working with his hands? He didn’t know a hammer from a chisel!
But in Exodus 31, God said, “I have chosen Bezalel. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts. He is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood. Yes, he is a master at every craft!”
The Lord didn’t stop there. “I have given special skill to all the naturally talented craftsmen so they can make all the things I have instructed you [Moses] to make.”
You might not be a woodworker, but God created you with skills for a purpose too. Have you ever wondered what it is?
Father, sometimes I feel like I’m all thumbs. Open my eyes to see the gifts you have given me so that I can fulfill your purpose.
