We supply the material; God supplies the ability
Sometimes I feel scared when God asks me to do something out of my comfort zone. What if people think I’m weird? What if I don’t wanna do what he’s asking me?
But I recently found a passage that gives me a new perspective on obeying God.
To summarize, here’s what I see happening in Exodus 35 & 36:
God asks the Israelites to do something (build him a tabernacle)
Israel is willing to provide the raw materials
God accomplishes his own request by filling the Israelites with his Spirit and working through them
Wow! God asked his people to do something, but then God was the one who did all the work by animating them with his own Spirit! The only thing the Israelites had to do was provide the raw materials.
1. God asks
The thing that God asked the Israelites to do was build him a home (tabernacle). He gave them very specific instructions, describing in detail the measurements and materials he wanted them to use for each element of the project. He requested that certain elements be made with gold, fine linen, leather, or precious gemstones.
After providing Israel with all the blueprints, God asked them to donate the materials needed to build and create it all.
God’s request was costly for the Israelites, and sometimes the things he asks us to do are costly too. That’s what makes his requests scary sometimes.
2. Israel is willing
The Israelites responded to God’s request with a willing heart.
“Everyone who felt stirred in their heart and propelled by their spirit donated the materials needed to construct the Existing One’s home and make all the sacred garments.”
—Exodus 35:21 (simplified)
They didn’t give begrudgingly; they gave willingly—really willingly!
“The Israelites continued to bring donations every morning.” The craftsmen who were building the sanctuary had to tell Moses, ‘The people are donating even more than what we need!’
—Exodus 36:3–5 (simplified)
The Israelites who were donating all their gold and raw materials were the same Israelites who had just pooled together all their gold to create the golden calf a few chapters ago.
A lot of times the raw materials God asks us for today are our time, a willing heart, and our energy. As someone who’s selfish, those can be hard things to hand over, because I like spending my time the way I want to spend it. But God can do so much more with my raw materials than I can.
And the funny thing is that I call them “my” raw materials, when actually everything I have comes from God anyways. The only reason why I even have the materials that I do is because God gave them to me. So when Israel donated their raw materials to God, God was technically the one who supplied those materials anyways.
3. God accomplishes
God asked Israel to build him a tabernacle, but then Exodus says,
“God has filled Bazalel with his Spirit to give him the skill, intelligence, and knowledge needed to craft all these things.”
—Exodus 35:31 (simplified)
So yes, Bazalel constructed everything God had requested, but it was God’s Spirit within Bazalel who was providing him with the skill and ability to carry out God’s orders.
Obeying God feels a lot more doable once I realize that God’s Spirit is the one inside of me who actually animates me to carry out his request. I don’t have to depend on my own strength to obey God. All I have to do is provide him with the raw materials (like my time, my willingness to be used by him, and my energy). Then God takes those raw materials and works his magic through me, inviting me into the experience of watching him move.