I happen to be an Adele fan. I’m in really good company, as she’s a worldwide superstar, and now, with the release of her highly anticipated album “25,” she is everywhere, again, to all her fans’ delight.

With technology, the very best in sound and mixing equipment, the greatest record-making minds on the planet, and the world’s finest musicians backing her up, you expect her talent to be refined to its very best. Truly, they can make miracles happen in the studio. But what about when she’s performing in front of a live studio audience, being backed by musicians playing preschool instruments?

Well, listen for yourself.

I’d have to say that talent is talent, no matter what. What if there is no instrumentation at all, and it’s just her? You can listen to that, too, right here. It has been debated that auto-tuning was used, but everything I’ve read supports my own belief that it’s raw.

And REMARKABLE.

Sometimes I think we wait with our talent. We all have something at which we excel, and while it may not be to Adele’s level (we can’t all dominate the world stage), we have a God-given talent. We often hold it close to the vest, afraid of putting it out there for fear of rejection, fear of failure, or even fear of success. So we wait for just the right enhancing agents to make our talent shine. If just the right circumstances occur, we will maybe – just maybe – take the lid off our carefully hidden talent and show it to the world.

The deal is, talent is talent is talent. It’s meant to be used to shine light, not on ourselves, but on the loving God that gave them to us in the first place. Whether or not we are backed by top-notch instruments, or preschool fodder, matters little. The talent is still there the way God gave it, and used from the right place, His purposes will be fulfilled and hearts will be turned toward Him.

Marvel at the talent around you, the amazing display of creative humanity that dazzles.

But more, marvel at the talent within you.

Throw off the lid with caution to the wind and let it shine.

 

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” ~ Matthew 5:14-16 NASB

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! ~ 1 Peter 4:10-11 MSG