“For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever."
Psalm 44:6-8
The bow and sword have their particular uses. In the hands of a skilled warrior, they fulfill their intended purpose. In the hands of the untrained, they are perhaps more dangerous to the person holding them than the enemy. Simply put, tools are as useful as the ones holding them.
Tools are a gift. They open up new avenues of work that otherwise couldn't be accomplished. In this sense, tools are also a reminder of our limits and finitude. We need tools because we are not omnipotent or self-sufficient. We, by our nature, need help.
God doesn’t need tools, yet He takes great joy in using them. We, His children, seem to be His favorite tools. In His hands, the gifts and talents He has given us come alive and accomplish immeasurably more than we could ever do on our own. We are His and when submitted by faith to His guiding hand, we can do far more to subvert the tactics of our common enemy than any tool formed by man.
While we thank the Lord for the tools He has given, may we also set our hope in not what’s in our hands but rather in whose hands we dwell. May we, with faith-filled precision, use the tools of our craft for God’s glory, full of gratitude for His faithfulness and power to bring about His good pleasure by whatever means He decides. May this give us confidence and attentiveness so we might seek moment by moment, client by client, the tools that best serve the situation.
