While I was worshiping, the Lord gave me an open vision. In it I saw a number of jigsaw puzzles being put together. It soon became apparent that certain pieces which appeared to fit in each of the puzzles were being set off to the side and were not even being looked at to see if they could be utilized to complete the picture.

Then the vision changed and I saw a cupboard with numerous puzzle boxes in it. In each box was a puzzle that was nearly complete, missing only one or two pieces. I also noticed a shelf with a number of separate pieces which were set apart and not even in the boxes with the puzzles to which they belonged.

Suddenly, I saw the hand of the Lord reach down into the cupboard and extract these discarded puzzle pieces. He took them to a table where there were a number of puzzles which were nearly complete — missing only a few pieces — and He put them in place completing the pictures.

Fitted Together
The Lord has seen the neglect and rejection of many of His precious saints whom He has gifted with spiritual gifts to advance the kingdom of God. He is declaring in these days that there are a number of spiritually gifted believers who have been “set aside” by the church they have been part of. Whether it is due to their mistakes, their immaturity, or simply the jealousy of others, they are no longer part of the picture of what is being done, and in some places they have become practically discarded.

But the giftings and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29), and the Lord is coming to deliver them with a strong “katartismos” anointing. This Greek word is found in Ephesians 4:11–12, the portion of Scripture that tells us God’s purpose in giving us the five-fold office gifts. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” The Greek word “katartismos”rendered here as “equip” is also translated “to prepare or perfect.” It literally means “to fit together,” as when a doctor would align and set a broken bone so that it would heal properly.

The Lord desires those gifted in pastoring, teaching, the prophetic, etc., not merely to teach or train others — but to help them find their place and release them into serving others. The call is to more than instruction. It is to help believers determine how they are to use their gifts to help advance the kingdom of God, what is God’s place for them in the Body, and then assist them in doing it.

For too long some in church leadership have been “putting people in their place” instead of helping the saints find their place. Many gifted believers who could help complete the picture of what God desires to do in and through various churches have been set off to the side or put on the shelf. While those in church leadership might be finished with them, the Lord isn’t done with them. They will yet exercise their gifts to bless and build up others, and finish all of the good works God has created for them to do.

If you are one who has been set aside or put on the shelf, now is the time for you to allow the Lord to divinely reposition you. God has allowed you to be set to the side and taken out of the picture because He has a new place for you, a place where you will fit it and fullfill what He has for you to do. Lay down your shattered expectations of what might have been … what should have been. Stop believing the lies the enemy has spoken about you that you are no longer valuable in God’s service. God has a place for you where you will not only perfectly fit in, but will help complete the picture of what He is doing in your midst.