What skill do you need to develop?

For years, I hated my voice. There were so many notes I couldn’t hit, so many times when my pitch was off, so often when my throat would just be sore. That’s a hard thing for a worship leader. Because I was singing multiple times a week. Not only that, but I was singing multiple times a week in front of people! And if I didn’t think I sounded good, I was certain other people wouldn’t either.

I remember praying on multiple occasions asking God to give me a better voice. At one point I even considered giving up worship leading because I struggled so much with how I sang. Until I realized something: The voice is a tool. You have to learn how to use it properly.

I had been using my voice, but I hadn’t been using it well. I need to learn how to use it the right way. Then I had to practice using it that way! Learn and practice. Learn and practice. Rinse and repeat.

Until that moment, I was believing the lie that good singers are born that way. Because truly, some are. But for me (and many others), it takes working on the skill of singing over and over. Constantly learning. Constantly practicing.

What skill do you need to work on developing? What tool do you need to learn how to use? Maybe for you it’s not singing. Maybe it’s public speaking. Or learning productivity techniques. Or learning more on an instrument. Or learning how to lead a band.

Some tools we need to learn are more glaring than others. For me, it was obvious I needed to learn to sing. I put it off because I thought it would be hard and honestly, because I wanted a quick fix and God to just change my voice. Does anything fall into that category for you?

That’s not always the case though. Sometimes we need to look at the skills we already have and learn to improve on those as well. Like I said, some people are born good singers! When it comes to the gifts we’re born with another issue tends to arise: we get comfortable with our ability. So much so that sometimes we don’t even consider the need to grow or improve.

Regardless of which category you’re in, the process or learning and practicing and repeating, in order to grow, is good stewardship. If God has given you a gift or a tool, you should learn to use it well, you should steward it well. Take note from King David. He’s one of our biblical models as far as worship leading goes. He stewarded his leadership from a young age and God built on it.

Psalm 78:70-72 speaks to David’s stewardship. It says, “He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”

If David had not stewarded his leadership skills with sheep in a field, he would not have been prepared to lead the nation of Israel. It seems to me from studying David’s life, that God probably gave him a gift and desire to lead. But that didn’t stop David from learning and practicing leading. For years, David learned and practiced. He rinsed and repeated. With sheep. But that allowed him lead with skillful hands when it came to people.

What areas of your ministry do you need to steward well? What skills do you need to learn or develop? My challenge for you today is to evaluate your ministry, find an area you need to grow, and a plan to learn and practice in that area. Begin to steward your gifts well! Begin to use your tools properly.