Have you ever noticed that in Numbers 4 everyone has a part to play?
“All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting…” (v35) were counted. The Kohathites were counted. The Gershonites were counted. The Merarites were counted. They were each counted. At the end of the chapter we read, “At the Lord’s command… each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted…” (v49)
What does it mean to be counted?
It means you are seen. You are significant. You matter. You are counted, valued, needed. You are loved, you have a role to play in His big family called Church. You are counted at the Lord’s command. And you have something to carry. Something that only you can carry. Something that has been assigned to you and only you.
You are not forgotten or misplaced, you are intrinsically vital to the church. You are counted and you have been assigned something to carry.
When we’re all in our own lanes, carrying our own assignments, a beautiful thing can happen—we can move forwards and take new ground. If the Gershonites had refused to carry the curtains, if they had said, “Curtains? I don’t do curtains. Curtains are too much hard work. I don’t really like curtains. . . curtains can be fussy. I get that curtains are important but they’re not my thing. . . ” then the whole of the Israelite camp would have been grounded.
Stuck.
Prevented from moving forward.
Don’t be looking at other people’s assignments and wishing you were carrying their load. . . curtains might not be what you’d choose, but if that’s what God is asking you to pick up then there’ll be a blessing as you submit to bringing the curtains along for the ride!
You have been singled out and counted at the Lord’s command. And He has an assignment for you to carry. He has a perfectly picked out purpose just for you. And it matters. It matters deeply to the wider church that you stand up and be counted.
Struggling to know what your purpose and call is? Book a coaching session and we can unpack what it is that God has uniquely gifted you for and how to boldly step into it.
Praying you sense how vital your story is to God's big story.
Let's stand and be counted today, amen?
Em