A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. Proverbs 18:16
One of the most uncomfortable things is to walk into a room and feel like you do not belong. Have you ever gone somewhere and when you got there you realize the occasion was more formal than you expected and everyone in the room was professionally dressed and you had on a casual outfit with comfortable shoes on? A few years ago, I was honored when I was asked to help with one of our son’s friend’s wedding shower. I spent time picking out a gift and searching recipes for the punch I was asked to make. I arrived at the hostess’s house early dressed in a pair of dress pants and a nice blouse. When I walked into the home, all the women had on a dress and I felt so underdressed. The only showers I had attended in the last several years were the showers our church gave, and a nice pair of dress pants was a very appropriate attire. I did not know most of the women there and so I felt out of place to start with and then when I felt underdressed, it made me feel like I did not fit in. I think most of the women reading this can relate in some way or another. For the men, maybe you are invited to attend something and when you pull in the parking lot in your 1990 run down car, all the cars (trucks) are expensive and look to be less than two years old. You start to feel outclassed very quickly. I know our worth is not based on the clothes we wear or the cars we drive, but when we are entering uncharted waters, we look for things that feel familiar to help feel like we belong. Maybe you are invited to a business dinner and when you sit down at the table and everyone seems to have so much more knowledge than you do about everything that is being discussed and you struggle to find something of substance to add to the conversation. Maybe it is not the way you look, the car you drive or the knowledge you do or do not have, the uncomfortable feeling may come from someone else’s jealousy and they do not want you in the “room.” The older I get the easier it seems to be to just be myself and go with the flow, knowing that I have things to offer, insights the others do not have, and not allowing circumstances to intimidate me. I have learned that if I am “invited to the table” someone believes that I have something valuable to add to the conversation, organization or mission that is being planned. If you are really “spiritual,” you know that Psalms 37:23 teaches us, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His ways.” (Sometimes my “spirituality” seems to vanish and old habits begin try to surface.) Every year I find a conference to attend so that I can take a few days and get refueled in my spirit. I write this article and I teach at church and I always want to be attuned to what God is saying so I go for a weekend where there is abundant teaching that challenges me to take things to a higher level. In the past, I went to a Woman’s Conference and 3 years ago I started going to a different Women’s conference that focuses more on the prophetic giftings. The first year I went and was amazed how God was using women to change their world. There were women pastors, evangelist, politicians (even the Presidents wife from an African Country who got up and spoke), business women, women who sere rescuing other women from sex trafficking. and even a model who was using her vocation to win the fashion world to Jesus. It was amazing to have the opportunity to listen to pioneering women who were breaking all the barriers and were walking in their God given callings. A few days before I was going to leave for the same conference the second year, I received an invitation to attend the inner circle dinner. My Aunt blessed me the money to purchase the ticket and I went to the conference excited to what God was going to do and attended the first afternoon session. I headed to the dinner alone, not knowing anyone there and as I walked in, I asked God where I was supposed to sit. I finally walked by a table that had women’s purses on most of the chairs, but there were two chairs left so I put my stuff in one chair and took my plate to the buffet to get my dinner. The women were very friendly and all introduced themselves by first name. Half way through dinner, I realized I had sat at the table with many of the breakout session speakers unknowingly (they were at the buffet line when I sat down and I did not look at the schedule and see who was all speaking that weekend.) My first reaction was embarrassment that I had set at the table with the speakers uninvited, then I remembered walking in the room and asking God where I was supposed to sit. God opened a door for me, and I relaxed knowing that He had placed me at a table of women who I could learn from. When God opens a door for us, sometimes He is opening a door as an answer to our prayers and sometimes He opens doors and He is taking us into new places He wants to give our gifts a place to grow.
It is not always easy to walk through the opened door and feel like we can do all God has called us to do. We look at our knowledge and experiences and if we are not careful, we allow the fear to crap in that tells us that we are not enough or that we do not have what it takes to accomplish all the open door offers. Proverbs 18:15 promises that “A man’s gift will make room for him.” The enemy wants us to believe that we have opened the door and we are responsible for keeping it open, when in reality, God opened the door because He sees something in us that He can use for His glory. Revelations 3:8 God told the Faithful Church at Philadelphia, “I know your works. See I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it, for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” When we are faithful over the small things God has entrusted us to do, He will open doors for new opportunities for us. Jesus told the parable of the three servants each given talents, one had 5, one 2 and the last was given one talent. When the Master returned, the servants who were given five and two talents were faithful and doubled what was given. Both times the Master said “Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” When God sees how we handle what we have been given, and He finds us faithful, He will give us new talents to manage. Through out scripture God has always taken the responsibility to provide what is needed for the task He is calling us to. The gifts we are given will make room for us and take us before great men. I know 100% that if God calls you, either He has already put the gifts you will need inside of you or He will train you and gift you for the calling. David was called to be kin and then sent back to the sheep field where he learned to kill a lion and a bear. When it came time, he had the skill and the courage to take on Goliath. Moses spent 40 years in Pharoah’s house learning to lead and 40 years in the back of the desert learning to navigate the harsh terrain before God called him to lead the Israelites to the Promise Land. Not only are our giftings natural, some of them are the experiences we tackle along life’s journey that could be used in the next chapter of our lives. If God has opened a new door for you, rest assured He has given you the gifts and talents you will need to fulfill the call. We are called to be obedient and follow Jesus when He leads us into new places. Jesus told us in John 15:5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” I find it interesting that Jeus is the vine, which is what olive we get oil grows on. When we are called, the anointing that comes from God is what will have the most influence on someone. The word anointing means to smear with oil. When we are smeared with the Holy Spirit, the oil, we are more than equipped to fulfill the call God has on our lives. A person can be anointed to preach or teach the gospel, heal the sick, or even to prophecy over people. We need the anointing to do any of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in I Corinthians 12. Our open doors are not always about “church” opportunities, they can be promotions into leadership at work, a new place on the city council, the president of the Parent teacher organization. Even those things are not what most of us consider “spiritual” they are vehicles we have been given to take the gospel into “all the world.” This is the year of the open door, and we need to be ready to walk through every door that God opens for us and feel confident that if He has opened it, we are ready for the assignment that awaits us. Will you join me this year listening for the Lord’s voice and watching for the open door that He has prepared for each of us? I pray against all fear, even the fear of success that would keep us from walking into the fullness of all that God has for us. God has not given us a spirit of fear!
Cathy Nesmith