Trees & Chairs
I have been listening to and slowly digesting an interview with Bishop TD Jakes and Pastor Steven Furtick. It’s basically a Q&A of sorts where Bishop is talking about his new book, “SOAR”. When I say there are so many great pieces of wisdom that are shared throughout the entire interview!! It’s a powerful hour 40 minutes that has been on repeat for me for a minute.
One part that struck me in the middle of the interview is when Pastor Steven begins asking Bishop about the systems, structures, and thought processes that seem to have guided Bishop Jakes’ life. In answer to Pastor Steven’s query, Bishop Jakes says,
God gives you an opportunity, and what you do with that opportunity is your gift to Him. When God gives you an opportunity, instead of just jumping on that opportunity, you’re supposed to see what it can be. I tell them all the time. God never made not one table. God never made a chair. In all of His years of being God, he’s never made a chair, he’s never made a table. He just made a tree. And the rest of it was up to us. When God hands you a tree, imagine a table, a chair. Imagine a wall in a room, imagine a log cabin, imagine what it can be!
This was so powerful to me. After some thought, I came to the same conclusion that Bishop Jakes shared. God makes trees. He gives us sunshine and rain, oceans and wind. He then equips us with intelligence and imagination.
Someone saw trees and thought of chairs. Another encountered metals and thought of building tools. God made raw, natural elements and gifted us with talents and gifts to use them. We have so many opportunities to examine, expand, and grow the gifts God has given!
For so long, I was afraid of walking in purpose, because I was thought I would choose wrong! I figured that I had a specific purpose and if I missed it, well, that was too bad, and life would just be awful. NOW, I understand. My purpose, our purpose, on this earth is to be reflections of our Creator! And there are as many ways to do that as there are people on this little planet.
God gives the gifts, and shares the opportunity to imagine something amazing with what He has given. How we choose to glorify Him and share His light with one another, is our gift of worship back to Him.
Thank you Lord for this perspective❤️
