Unlike David, who came to the place in his life where he lowered his lofty eyes, most men today selfishly aspire to rise above God’s intentions for them. They despise the work God has put within their reach, believing it to be beneath them, and aspire to undertake a work that they are neither called to do nor the least bit qualified for. They disdain the thought of being nothing more than a little candle in a dark world and demand that God make them a shining star in the firmament of the first magnitude admired and "oohed and aahed" over by the multitudes.

Many refuse to serve Christ unless entrusted with “five talents” rather than with “two” or “one” (Matthew 25:14-30). They refuse to march in the parade unless they can carry the big drum. They insist upon pastoring a mega-church, believing that pastoring a small church is beneath them. They insist upon singing solos, believing that merely singing in the choir is beneath them. They insist upon chairing the big committee, believing that mere membership on the big committee or the chairmanship of a lesser committee is beneath them.

I once read a story of a master composer and conductor who stopped a symphony crying out, “Where is the piccolo?” He was so in tune with the music that he knew when the least little instrument and the least little note was missing from his opus. Our Master also knows when “the piccolo” is missing from the divine symphony being played in the world today, especially when the piccolo player is refusing to play his God-ordained part because he was given a piccolo rather than a tuba.

Make no mistake about it; all who refuse to play their God-given piccolo will answer to Christ for their unfaithful stewardship of the piccolo. Likewise, those who refuse to use their one talent in Christ’s service for God’s glory will also answer to Christ for their unfaithful stewardship of the one talent. The fact that you were not given a tuba or five talents will not excuse you for being unfaithful with your piccolo or one talent.   

To calm the soul requires us to be content with our God-given lot in the body of Christ, with the ministry to which God has called us, and with the spiritual gifts with which the Spirit has blessed us.