Psalm 16:2 
I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! 
Every good thing I have comes from you.”(NLT)

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.” (NIV)

James 1:17  Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. (NLT)

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Our Father in Heaven is the Giver of All Good Things. There is no good thing that cannot trace its origin to God’s good creation. (See Genesis 1 and 2.) God creates. Humans make. He gives us the raw materials to build good and helpful tools. We use the elements he provides and the wisdom he so freely gives to all who ask to work with our minds and our hands, our collaboration and cooperation. (See James 1:5-8.)

Working together works. My coworker Becky and I guided a group through annual visioning and quarterly planning yesterday. We have been working with this group for the last five years or so. Their collaboration and cooperation is a thing of beauty. They are now extending their network with like-minded groups to provide extended reach for ministries of mercy, compassion, hope, and healing. 

This group summed up the place where they currently stand with these three sentences.

* We’re on the same page.
* We are starting now from a place of strength.
* We have a focused plan and workable solutions.

God has given them knowledge and wisdom like Bezalel and Oholiab and the craftsman he called and equipped for skilled work in their trades. (See Exodus 31:1-6). They use their complementary skills in the service of restoration and renewal, life-giving production, and healing grace. Observing the variety of giftings and callings fitted together for God’s purposes is truly inspiring.

Foreign governments invite them to serve their people. They break down barriers for them and provide them with necessary resources. Their influence extends to millions upon millions of people here in the USA and around the world. 

God asked Moses during his commissioning conversation, “What is in your hand?” (See Exodus 4:2.) It was an ordinary walking stick, a shepherd’s staff. If you think Gandalf’s staff was special, you should see what Moses’ staff could do!

Moses was not the power behind the staff; God was. God can use ordinary sticks and stones, like the flint from which he provided water in the wilderness, and do far more with them than we can. He takes sticks and stones, and rather than bruise skin and break bones, he builds a better world. 

The Giver of All Good Things has placed something in your hand. What is it? How will he use it to build a home and career and bless the world? If you require clarity on this matter, seek out wise counsel and coaching. Follow the curiosity God has placed in your heart and mind. Ask him for wisdom which he gives abundantly and delightedly (James 1:5-8). 

When we get on the same page with God and one another, when we start from that place of God’s limitless strength, and when we discover his focused plan and workable solutions, we live better lives, we enjoy better homes, and we build a better world. 

What’s in your hand? Offer it to God and watch him do more with it than humanly possible. God will be honored, you will be blessed, and many will be served.

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I will offer God all that I am that he may do through me what I never dreamed possible.

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Our Father, you are the Giver of All Good Things. Take what you have placed in my hand and use it to magnify your glory and satisfy the longing of those who need what you can do through me. You are our Creator. You shape us for significance. You empower us to make necessary and beneficial tools, products, and services to build a better world. Thank you for equipping us and giving us kindred hearts for collaboration and cooperation. Amen.