There is a reason I am not a tugboat captain. I don’t like the smell of fish. I am certain that too much time upon churning seas would make me hurl meals I thought were long digested. I don’t tie knots well. I am mechanically declined. And I can’t swim.

All of these are hurdles I could most likely overcome. Except for that part about casting my last three meals upon the choppy waters. However, there is one main barrier that keeps me from being a tugboat captain.

God didn’t create me to be a tugboat captain.

Now, if I have any readers out there who are tugboat captains, you have my everlasting admiration. And, rest assured, I am not after your job. But if you are one of those people who were created to live for the smell of the sea breezes and choking diesel engine fumes, then tugboat captain is the perfect vocation for you.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV). If you’re feeling like a fish out of water (to continue our maritime theme), like a tugboat captain with no ambition to sail – or tug – relax. God has a plan. For you.

Let me ask you: who are you? I don’t mean name, rank and serial number. Who are you? What do you do well and find deep satisfaction in doing? What puts the wind in your sails? (See there… more nautical references…) Seek God and ask Him how you can use these gifts – and, yes, God has gifted you in some way, whether you realize it or not – to further His Kingdom. Discover how you can use your abilities to bring Him glory and bless the community you are part of.

And watch God work wonders through you as you faithfully serve Him with all He has given you!