WISDOM FOR SKILLFUL VOCATIONS

“So he shepherded them according to the Integrity of his heart, and guided them by the SKILLFULNESS of his hands”” – Psalm 78:72

The LORD GOD is the Source and Supplier of WISDOM for SKILLFUL VOCATIONS: “He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the Integrity of his heart, and guided them by the SKILLFULNESS of his hands” (Psa.78: 70-72). Integrity of Heart and Skillfullness of hands form a dynamic combination! SKILL means ability, technical know-how, or expertise in a field. Both skills and talents come from God: “Let every SKILLED and TALENTED man among you come, and make everything that the Lord has commanded” (Exo.35:10, Amplified). Skills however differ from talents. Being skilful transcends being gifted; skills can only be developed or honed!

God chose David, the youngest of Jesse’s children to be anointed as king in the midst of people that were taller and stronger than him (1Sam.16: 11-12). David however took time to submit to divine disciplines and hone his skills in music, shepherding and warfare. One of Saul’s servants testified concerning David: “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him” (1Sam.16:18). Though the youngest, God’s Anointing and David’s skills caused him to excel among Jesse’s sons! Standing before Goliath, David testified publicly of how he defeated the lion and the bear, and boasted in the Lord that the giant will be likewise destroyed; and it was so (1Sam.17:35-36). All of these skills were useful in his future leadership roles.

In every vocation one must be skillful in order to go far or excel. To become skilful however, one must have gone through the rigours of discipline, exercise, and training. Just like David brought down Goliath within few hours, whereas Israel had stagnated for forty days and nights, a skilful professional will diagnose and fix in few hours a problem that others are unable to unravel in days or weeks! Such a workman will automatically become a magnet for the flow of patronage: “Do you see a man who EXCELS in HIS WORK? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men” (Pro.22:29). This shows that to be skillful requires identifying, respecting, and abiding in one’s unique areas of expertise. The skilful will have access to people of influence and affluence. The quality of our skill determines the quality of our output in life.         

Skill is about applying tactics that will make one do a task or assignment excellently. Some believers like to blame others, including the devil, for their failures, rather than admit to slothfulness and unwillingness to hone their skills. We must quit the blame-game and throwing pity-parties. Fasting, prayer, and anointing have their places, but cannot substitute for relevant skills. Many Christians and churches neglect skill for prayers. Without giving priority to skill-acquisition, this is like pouring water in a leaking bucket. Being skillful also has nothing to do with grammar, certificate, degree, or a big qualification, except such is uniquely relevant to one’s vocation. Great dreams are killed without skill. In today’s world, it is the skillful people that make waves and have sustained success. To be great in life and fulfilled in destiny, we must be skillful in our vocations.

Finally, for our skills to make room for us in destiny, they must be sacrificially submitted to the Lord, to be used only for His Glory: “The race is not for the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to MEN of SKILL; but time and chance happen to them all” (Eccl.9:11). God remains sovereign over all of our skills. We cannot afford to be arrogant, boastful in ourselves, or proud, for “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven” (Jh.3:27, NIV). Skills honed by Grace must be sacrificially deployed for God’s Glory!