“I Have a Work for Thee”

We all want to be valued, not in the abstract, but for the genuine contributions we can make. God therefore increases our sense of self-worth by giving us assignments to help Him with His work.

For example, after affirming Moses’s inherent worth—”Thou art my son”—He invited Moses to act: “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son” (Moses 1:4, 6). After showing Abraham the magnitude of His creations, He declared that Abraham had long since been identified as a leader: “Thou wast chosen before thou wast born” (Abraham 3:23; compare Jeremiah 1:5).

In the Book of Mormon, Alma explains that many people were “called and prepared from the foundation of the world” to preach the gospel and help people enter God’s rest (Alma 13:3).

Some individuals, including Moses, Abraham, and Alma, are given significant and visible roles in God’s work. But I think the same principle applies to all of us. We may be called in smaller ways, and we may find the same satisfaction in being “called many times” as Amulek said he was (Alma 10:6).

Spencer W. Kimball taught:

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. … So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!

“Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, December 1974

After a sweet experience in which Thomas S. Monson blessed a family, he reflected on the joy he felt:

I experienced … as I have many times before, a sense of gratitude that my Heavenly Father had answered another person’s prayer through me.

“The Priesthood—a Sacred Gift,” April 2007 general conference

Today, I will look for the ways that God is calling me to serve. I will recognize in those simple calls a vote of confidence in me—an affirmation of my divine worth, of my potential, and of my ability to contribute to God’s work right now.