Why personality and gift-mix can’t always dictate assignment

In Acts 10, God asks Peter to do the unthinkable.

He’s going to have to have fellowship with, and share Jesus’ message with…some Gentiles.

And the way it’s revealed to Peter is through a divine invitation to dig into a big meal made entirely of…unclean food.

But Peter had never done either.

What Peter didn’t know was that the Lord was about to unfold his eternal plan that has been in process for ages (see Ephesians 2) to bring the Gentiles into family relationship with the Jews as they all got in on the Gospel.

Better yet, He would use Peter as the spark that would get this fire burning.

Imagine if Peter had said “NO WAY! God doesn’t work like that. Even if He does, that certainly isn’t my calling; it doesn’t fit with my gift-mix; it isn’t what I’m wired to do.”

I do believe The Lord has a unique calling for each of us, and has hard-wired certain gifts and God-given-abilities into our personalities. For some reason uber-Pharisee Paul would end up being the Apostle to the Gentiles just as Peter would be the Apostle to the Jews (Gal 2:8). And for reasons God only knows, that fit them each very well.

But God also purposed to use Peter to be the one through whom the Gentiles would first receive the gospel. Though it wasn’t his thing, as a post-modern Gentile, I’m sure glad that Peter was obedient and flexible to do what seemed out of his depth.

It was only a single assignment, but what an assignment!

When we are intransigent (inflexible, stuck in our ways, unmoving) about what we will and won’t do for God, we can miss some awesome opportunities.

So, do find your “SHAPE”, know your “DISC Profile”, understand your personality type, comprehend your Gift-mix…

…then when it’s all said and done, submit yourself each day to whatever the Lord would do through you to touch your world; even when—maybe especially when—it doesn’t make sense.