“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3

She gripped her pencil with ease and started drawing. Her simplistic artistry shone far beyond her little eighteen months with skills even a four-year-old had difficulty mastering. We watched in awe as she naturally held the pencil correctly and formed circles, drew detailed facial features like eye lashes and fully clothed bodies with buttons and shoes. Certainly, her artistic abilities and her knack for details were God-given.

Now a preschooler, she recently joined me on the set of Penn’s Pals where the author asked if anyone was an artist or thought they’d like to be an artist when they grow up. When she didn’t raise her hand I clarified, “Artists are people who like to draw, paint, color, or make things.” She appeared conflicted, half heartedly raising her hand, so I encouraged her. “Yes, you are an artist.” 

“No, I’m not an artist! I gonna be a mommy when I grow up,” she replied with great determination and confidence.

Although naturally artistic, her heart’s desire rang loud and clear. And her response made me ponder. If God set our purpose in motion from the very beginning—if he knit our DNA together inside our mother’s womb (Psalm 139: 13-16)—then shouldn’t our deepest desire naturally align itself with God’s will for us? 

Yes and no. 

Yes – I believe God knits us together supernaturally natural in every way from the very beginning for a specific purpose. He individually gifts us with natural abilities, talents and desires like no other and these help us accomplish His specific purpose.

However, we have a choice: either we use these natural talents to pursue our own selfish desires without God’s direction and therefore, thwart His purpose, or we submit to God’s authority over them and allow God to use these abilities to accomplish His work through us. 

It’s a fine line, really, because it’s a matter of our strong will vs. our willingness. When we willingly acknowledge our natural abilities and talents as God-given and ask the Lord to direct us according to how He sees fit—that’s when our heart shifts— our desires supernaturally align with God’s heart; when we discover who He created us to be from the beginning and start living out God’s kingdom purpose for our lives, naturally. 

Presupposing who or what God created our children or grandchildren to be is tempting. While we spend thousands of dollars helping them develop their natural talents, shouldn’t we also spend time nurturing and encouraging their discovery of their God-given hearts’ desires— like becoming a godly mommy or daddy, a mechanic or engineer, a pastor or teacher, or an artist or writer? 

Have you considered how supernaturally natural they are in every way?