We serve a God that is full of love and compassion. We were created for a divine purpose. There is a reason why you were created by God, He didn't create anyone without depositing something special inside him/her. These gifts are not given to us to be hidden, but to use it to the glory of God, His Kingdom on earth and serve humanity. For most believers, it might take them donkey years to discover that special gift in their lives while some discover theirs early in life. It doesn't really matter when you discovered yours, what matters is how you are ready & willing to use yours for the purpose in which it was deposited inside of you in the first place although some people believe God created them without depositing something special, this is not true if only they can search deep within their soul and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that special gift in them.
God is not partial although sometimes it looks as if some are more talented than others or more active when it comes life driven purpose which I don't quite agree. I think we are all talented, but the level at which we operate depends on individual ability. It boils down to how one is able to use his/her gift, develop that talent by working effectively with the Holy Spirit.
The rod in your hand simply means that special gift that God has given to us individually. It's not something you acquire from the university or something you were taught to do by others. These gifts can only be given by God. Sometimes, you see yourself doing something you didn't study or learn from anywhere and you will be almost perfect at doing it. Rod can be defined as the seed of greatness that God has deposited inside you, but it's left for us to water it for maximum growth and usage through Christ that strengthens us. It won't be a good thing to live this life without achieving the purpose of being created in the first place. So, it is important to always ask yourself why you were created and think of ways to positively use it for His glory.
David was created to serve the people of Israel as a king. It didn't just happen, God had already deposited something special which he used to get to that throne. He deposited the gift of singing in the life of David, and it was that talent that got him to the palace.
The parable of the talents talks about the servants that were given a different amount of talents by their master according to their ability. The servants were able to use what was given to them to develop more talents, but one of the servants thought his master will be pleased if he kept his given talent hidden so he did. On the day of returns, he boldly told his master how he spent his, but his master was furious and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. You see, no one is worthless unless they chose to be worthless. God has not given us these talents for it to be hidden. We are meant to use it to gain more & add value to the kingdom of God on earth. There will be a day of reckoning when we will be asked questions on what we did with that special gift. And those who used theirs effectively will be duly rewarded by the Master.
The question is, what are you doing with your God-given talent? Do you think, you owe no one an explanation? Do you think, you will not give an account of how you spent yours on the last day? Have you ever thought or try to discover why you were created in the first place? What purpose were you made to fulfill in your life with those talents? These are questions we ought to ask ourselves in order to help us discover why we were blessed with that special gift through Christ.
In Conclusion,
The rod in your hand mustn't be used only in the church, it can be used in any aspect of your life to bring glory to the Most High. What matters is that we don't keep it hidden or buried. Go out and let it shine brightly into the world, let's touch lives with the gifts we have inside of us. As we do this, it brings more souls to the Kingdom, we also serve humanity in the process, and God will definitely be happy with us because we are not like the worthless servant.