We often think of successful, creative people as those who chart their own course and advance smoothly along a path that they themselves have determined. While this does happen for a happy few, there is biblical precedent for living out a very different approach to using our God-given gifts.

In the Old Testament, Joseph went from being favored by his dad to being hated by his brothers to being imprisoned by Pharaoh. His options were narrowed to an Egyptian dungeon. There, his only opportunity to use his gifts was to do free dream interpretation for fellow prisoners.

This was quite a comedown.

He had been the favorite son, with visions of grandeur dancing in his head. But the former braggart Joseph learned a crucial lesson in the school of hard knocks. Instead of becoming embittered, he was now willing to use God's gifts to serve others, regardless of how little he gained in return. He was faithful with the small opportunity he had in that dungeon, and soon he was given the chance to strategize the future of the nation of Egypt. Thanks to Joseph, a famine that could have devastated Egypt and destroyed his own family did not. Why? Because Joseph used his gifts in the hidden places, among forgotten people, and with no hope of fame or fortune.

We should not be surprised that God works in the world this way. He could choose to create every new flower from nothing. That would be a spectacular series of miracles, to be sure. But instead, He has created a world that is itself creative, and He lets "the earth bring forth" every plant from out of its hidden darkness.

Then this same God, who created all things in heaven and earth, came to earth as Jesus, son of a peasant couple living in an unenviable corner of the Roman Empire. The source of all creativity models perfect humility. No circumstance is so humble and hidden that we cannot use all of our gifts to serve God and neighbor every day. Christ never traveled more than 140 miles from where he was born. He never wrote a book. He was misunderstood by friends and family. And rejected by those who held the keys to earthly advancement. But the sun never set on a day when he did not use all of his creativity and giftedness.

Life should not be lived as a strategy. Each day is more than a stepping-stone to some imagined future when we will—finally—be able to use our gifts fully and be recognized for our accomplishments. That is a recipe for frustrating ourselves, and for frustrating God's desire to work through us right where we are. Today is the day to bring all our creativity to bear on whatever clear good we can do in the high calling of our daily work.