Serving Our Heavenly Father with Our Skills and Talents

Person using two hands to support another woman’s hands. Other woman is holding a pink rose. Image illustrates serving God by helping others.

“So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”

–Exodus 36:1

My father loves vegetable gardening. He learned how to grow vegetables on his family’s farm in Jamaica as a small child. Despite moving away from the farm, he still enjoys being outdoors, planting seeds, and watching things grow. Nowadays, my parents live in a house with a small backyard, at least compared to my dad’s childhood farm. Vegetable gardening is a little more challenging for him, but he still enjoys growing—or attempting to grow—vegetables in a smaller space. My mom occasionally pokes fun at my dad for spending so much time gardening in the backyard. However, she always appreciates him when he brings her fresh ingredients from his garden to include in a meal.

Using Our Skills to Serve God

Do you have a special talent or skill? Are you a painter or a gardener, like my dad? Do you like to knit or play basketball? Or maybe you have a set of highly specialized skills from working as a nurse or lawyer? As God’s children, we should use our skills to serve God (1 Peter 4:11).

In the book of Exodus, Moses calls together the people of Israel to use their skills to build a tabernacle. Furthermore, God points out two men to Moses: Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab from the tribe of Dan (Exodus 35:30-35). These men gained their skills as craftsmen while being enslaved in Egypt. I find it fascinating that God used their time as slaves to bless them with the skills and experience needed to minister to Him and the people of Israel. Bezalel and Oholiab probably never envisioned their time as slaves would prepare them to serve God in the future.

Maybe you have a skill or talent, but you struggle to find ways to use it for God. Perhaps you wonder if your skillset is valuable at all. Sometimes we think that our skills and talents aren’t important, but the truth is that a skill or talent submitted to the work of God has the potential to bless Him and our community. As we submit ourselves to doing His work, we testify that we serve an amazing, creative, and all powerful God.