He has given each one of us a special gift.
—Ephesians 4:7
Alpheus Hardy (1815-1887) had his heart set on becoming a minister. The greatest disappointment of his life was that he couldn’t go to college due to failing health.
It seemed to him that his purpose in life had been defeated. In despair, he kept repeating, “O God, I cannot be Thy minister!”
Then this: “But there came to me a new hope, a realization that I could serve God in business with the same devotion as in preaching, and that to make money for God might be my sacred calling—and I said, ‘O God, I can be Thy minister.’” And to the day of his death, Alpheus Hardy was faithful to that sacred calling.
Ponder your God-given talents: commitment of those gifts to God’s service is your sacred calling, your ministry.
You have a unique and sacred ministry.