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TITLE: A Symphony of Miracles Book 2 Chapter 29 In the Master's Hands! 11/23/14 By Richard McCaw 11/23/14 |
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Chapter 29
In the Master’s Hands!
Have you ever considered that many significant things in history took place on a mountain. Abraham offered a ram, instead of his son on Mount Moriah. God met Moses on Mt. Horeb and gave Him the Ten Commandments. In the last days Jerusalem will be called the mountain of the Lord.
One day, Jesus Christ sat with His disciples on a mountain and not long afterwards saw that a crowd of people had come looking for him. Turning to Philip He asked, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?”
“Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little!” replied Phillip.
Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, brought a boy with his lunch basket to Jesus and said, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
Good reasoning, Andrew! But God never uses our human reasoning to work miracles. We tend to limit the power of God by trying to work everything out with our finite brains.
When Jesus took the loaves and ordered, “Make the people sit down!” if you were that little boy, you might have been tempted to protest, “But Master, my mother gave me that for my lunch! If you take it away, what shall I have?” However, he might have watched Jesus on other occasions, and seen enough miracles to begin trusting Him.
Gifts that God gives us really belong to Him and should certainly be given back to Him. Who knows what great things God could do with them? On this occasion Jesus was able to feed at least five thousand men besides the many women and children.
I had given my gifts to the Lord for Him to do as He pleased. God was a great God! Yielding to human reasoning might have enslaved me to worldly concepts that deceive not only unbelievers but worldly Christians, who say: “You may have a particular gift, but you’ve got to be practical. You’ve got to pay your bills and keep the money rolling in!” Inspired by the Holy Spirit, my musical gift operated the Studio and paid all my bills. More importantly it provided the time to minister the good news to the lost!
However, most people seemed to be trapped by the demands of making a decent living. One woman told me frankly: “My son is a gifted artist, but I advised him, ‘You better not think of that at college, because that’s not going to make you any money!’ Does that sound like the Lord? The enemy talks negative about our gifts. His famous line is, “Be practical!”
Don’t be deceived! The Devil is a liar!
Many young people have found themselves in careers they hate because parents or well-meaning friends have advised them to look first upon the financial rewards. Many have become psychological and emotional disasters and spiritually bankrupt by following worldly advice. They failed to fulfill the purpose for which God created them. They never discovered or developed the gifts He deposited in them that were intended to supply their needs.
Jamie Foxx, one of Hollywood’s top actors, once portrayed a homeless man in the film “The Soloist.” The film was based on the true story of a Juilliard School of Music dropout, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers. Nathaniel went from a happy childhood in Cleveland to bright promise in New York, and then to his Los Angeles hell, ending up on the streets, where he pushed a shopping cart filled with trash and bedded down next to rats. Taking a break from the newsroom, a newsman, Lopez, stopped on the street to listen to this disheveled man playing a two-stringed violin. Fascinated by his talent, he wrote a column about him in a Los Angeles newspaper. While Lopez helped Ayers to reconnect with his music, Ayers often became very emotional, giving vent to verbose bursts, and withdrawing into himself with abrupt silences. Finally, Lopez felt like giving up completely, realizing how difficult it was to help people hurt by unfulfilled dreams and buried gifts crying for release in a world of confused values.
Of course, there was no talk of God throughout the film, despite the fact that God is the One who plants gifts in his creatures. What a pity when a gift is not given back to its Creator, so that He can nurture it, bring it to maturity by His Spirit, and bless the world! Sadly, as happens in many cases, it becomes like a wilted flower, a withered plant, that finally is cut down and thrown out upon the garbage of the world.
Today, many gifted people wander our streets. A deep fire within them rages to express itself. Many come from broken homes and are lost, misunderstood, emotionally hurt and confused. Reared in poverty, they were never placed in an environment of love and culture, where lofty things and deep emotions that breed excellence are cared for. Unsung geniuses, their talents can do nothing to enhance our troubled world.
Others are simply lazy. Some of my most gifted students over the years have been the laziest.
Like that little boy, we must give the gift God has deposited within us into the Master’s hand. Let the touch of His hand nurture and develop it to its greatest capacity. Let the Lord Jesus Christ bless others, as He did the multitudes He fed and bring glory to our Father in heaven!
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