USE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT
So you’re gifted – at least that’s what they tell you. Maybe you understand spiritual gifts, but don’t know which gifts you have. How can you better understand and make the most of the gifts He has given you?
You must practice using your gifts by serving God in the ways that are best and easiest for you. That means functioning in the role God has assigned to you, doing what you are burdened to do and ministering as best you can in ways that are available to you. Even the most accomplished swimmer wasn’t world-class the first time he got into a pool. Just do what you can and you’ll discover what is easiest for you and where you are most successful and where you are not.
When I was a young pastor, I tried being an evangelist, but it was very hard for me to talk to people I didn’t know about their faith. I wasn’t good at it and struggled. My wife is much better at that than I am. I loved to teach the Bible and people wanted to come and learn from me. They also came to me for adv their problems. God didn’t give me the gift of evangelism, but He did gift me to teach and counsel. No one has all the gifts. Find and use the gifts God has give you. Don’t compare yourself with others. A spiritual gift is something you enjoy doing (have a desire/burden to do) and something you are able to do – maybe not as well as you’d like but certainly better than the average Christian.
Don’t limit what God is doing in you. God gives us a variety of spiritual gifts, a special ‘mix’ that is unique to each of us. There are 3 basic colors (red, yellow and blue) but thousands of combinations can be made from them. That’s how it is with spiritual gifts. We each have a unique combination of gifts that blend with our personality and spiritual development. That makes each of us unique. Still, it can be good to try and find someone who has at least some of the gift mix you see in yourself and have that person mentor you. If it is a local person you can spend time with them. If it is someone in the Bible, church history or on the national scene today you can still study their life to see what you can learn to apply to your own growth.
Remember that God will gift you, but He will also stretch you. As I said, my primary spiritual gift is teaching, but I’ve always been shy and uncomfortable speaking to groups of people. I must still speak to people about their faith when God leads me to do so, but I spend most of my time studying and teaching.
The best advice I can give you as to how to develop your gift is to use it. Focus on it in your ministry. Be alert to opportunities to use it for God’s glory. Remember it is His gift for His glory. We use it for Him, not for ourselves.
1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
Ephesians 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. … There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
If you were describe your gift mix, what spiritual gifts would you say you have? What is the balance between them (which is the main gift, which supplement other gifts, etc.)?
What would your mate or close friends say about the list you have written?
What can you do to further develop the gifts god has given you?
Is there any way you are holding back in using your gifts, any way you are resisting the way God is stretching you through using your gift? Apologize to God now and make yourself totally available to Him.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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