Do you think God has an expectation of those whom He’s blessed with certain gifts?
I ask that question because believe it or not, we all have spiritual gifts we had nothing to do with acquiring. Very much like Moses, once God picks you, you can’t talk your way out or ignore your way out of doing what God expects or desires you to do with the gift He’s given you.
As a believer, one day you realize you are indeed blessed and as such, the expectation should be that you will use your blessings to be a blessing to others. It’s divine law, I think. There is no option. It’s like playing Hide and Seek with someone who can see through walls, behind bushes and over trees.
Sometimes I think we become enamored with our talents and believe them to be learned skills or attributes we’ve acquired via business training or maybe things we’re just good at. Whatever the thought, the fact is you’ve been blessed by God and you need to ask: what would He have you do, again, with His gifts?
Say, for instance, you have great mathematical skills and work as an accountant. Maybe you might find a way to use them in service for the Lord.
I can personally relate to this, because I had to come to that reality that my gift of writing had never been used for anything remotely Godly. I had received recognition of all sorts from my industry, from local to regional and some national awards. However, I had written nothing that demonstrated a belief in Jesus, or that showed a submission to the will of God, or more I importantly that acknowledged this gift as God-given.
In my first religious column, all I tried to do was publicly claim Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. That became a weekly proclamation of faith via this column. I was fearful, at first, which merely hid a flaw in my thinking that I was not worthy to even “speak” in the name of God. Now it is my mission to tell anyone who’ll listen that I take no credit for anything I have.
I am blessed and therefore obligated to use what I’ve been blessed with to fulfill what just might be my destiny. Some have said it is a calling. I don’t claim it as a ministry, but I have friends and readers who tell me they see it that way. More importantly, I have received correspondences from strangers who have told me that in some small way my words have been helpful.
My goal was not and is not to receive accolades. It is solely to give honor and praise. It is interesting that when you do what God expects, He uses that in ways you never expected.
God will put opportunity after opportunity in front of you to insure you use His gifts for His purposes and not your own. Hopefully, God will continue to encourage and lead as opposed to drag and discipline. In this case, I believe you have only two options. Use it or lose it!
“Each one should use whatever gift he received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” – Peter 4: 10.
