It's All I've Got

I was watching America’s Got Talent on NBC last Monday night. It’s a pretty entertaining show that y’all have probably heard of, if not seen, before. It showcases some really unique talents, and one of the performances this past week was a music group called Wordspit The Illest. They were all guys from New York City, and they were pretty cool. From what the lead vocalist was saying, it sounds like they’ve dodged some pretty tough stuff in their lives. He said that if he wasn't on that stage he would probably be headed down a bad road…I’m paraphrasing of course, but the truth as he stated is this: Music is everything to him. It’s all he’s got. If he didn't have music, he doesn't know where he’d be. That sort of struck a chord with me, and it really got me thinking. So I've been gathering my convoluted thoughts on the subject all week, to share with you today.

I’m so glad he has his music, but by jove, he should have a heck of a lot more than his music! I mean, if all we have is our talents, then what does that mean for people like me? If I have a talent in music, then I have no inkling of what it is! I mean I definitely enjoy music but everyone’s happier when I don’t contribute. For a really long time that bothered me, actually. Not just my lack of musical talent, but the fact that I don’t really know what my talent is. But it’s not just me. I imagine there are a lot of average highschoolers, like me, in America…in the world, for that matter. Average athletic abilities (as in I can kick a soccer ball but its not about to go where I want it to), average outward appearance (last time I checked I was not a teen model…thank God hahaha) average social skills (people don’t bust their butts to sit next to me at lunch…well, they wouldn't if I went to school, anyway), average everything. If we don’t know what our talent is or if we even have one that the world will appreciate, then what? What do we have? Well, you have nothing. Not what you were expecting from Miss Motivation over here? Well, it’s true. But that’s okay. Because guess what? God loves to use the people that the world doesn't appreciate. Because then when they accomplish great things, it’s obvious that He was behind it all. I’m not saying that He doesn't use the people that He gave really cool talents to, He most definitely can and does. But what I’m saying is this: He says He has great things planned for your future, it’s His job to decide what those plans entail and what talents are going to be a hindrance or a catalyst. He made you, so He most certainly knows what talents He gave you. He decided whether they’re big or small, whether they will land you on America’s Got Talent and whether or not they will even catch your friends’ attention. So stop worrying about the talents that you don’t have, and ask what He wants you to do with the talents that you do have, today! Even if you don’t know what they are! It’s not about what talents you have, it’s about how God is going to use those talents to touch the people around you. So I’d say that if you have a voice that doesn’t cause people’s ears to burn, if you can throw a javelin and have it not land where it’s gonna decapitate someone, if you can eat fifty saltines in thirty seconds, then the first step to real success is realizing that your cool talent isn’t all you've got. You've got God, even if you find one day that you can only eat forty-nine saltines in thirty seconds. :( And if you’re one of us who don’t got any of those talents, then just stop pouting. Please. Nobody likes a pouter. I've got a God who has great ideas for what He wants me to do, and so do you. We’re going places, too, if we trust God’s plan. He’s told us so!

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you and not to abandon you. Plans to give you the future you hope for.” (Jeremiah 29:11…from the Message.)