You Have a Gift...

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord." 1 Corinthians 12: 4-5

I went to a women's retreat this past weekend. The theme running throughout the weekend was "Gifts". There was discussion on what are the "gifts", where do they come from, how do you know what your gift is and "how do you use them to serve God. This was a very timely message for me as I had been pondering the subject quite a bit lately.

God has gifts for all of His children. Each "gift" is unique to the individual. Oh yes, there are only a limited amount of types of gifts, but our ability to use the gifts and the situations that God puts us into where we could use them are definately unique to each of us. One of the speakers this weekend was a worship leader at a very large Vineyard Church. She was telling us that while she loves leading worship, and serves God by leading it, she feels that it was not her most precious 'gift". God gave her the ability to sing and play the piano and she gets up each week and leads thousands of people in worship, and knows that she is serving our God by doing so, but she believes that raising her children in the way of the Lord is her most very special gift. This woman looks at each of her children as gifts from God, and sees raising them up in the Lord as a gift to the children and to God. I found that to be the most profoundly moving truth of the weekend.

God does not limit us to just one "gift". Often times we get several gifts. God will design a gift package for each of us that will allow us to serve Him and His Kingdom in the best way possible if we are open to it. It really boils down to whether or not we seek Him, and whether or not we listen for the "still quiet voice" of the Holy Spirit inside of us. The gifts are there. Freely given. We only need to ask Him to reveal them to us, and sit back and listen to what He tells us. Often times we can recognize our gifts by our passion. A gifted speaker will usually have a passion for speaking. A gifted musician will have a passion for music. A gifted teacher will garner great joy from seeing students "get the point".

Ask God to make clear your gifts, and then sit back and wait for him to show you. When He does you will know it, and you will have an immense desire to use the gift to worship, honor and serve Him. It won't be about you at all. It will flow from your very being without effort. And you will know. It might not be just one gift, it may be several. We are to serve God in everything we do, to give praise always. Our gifts help us to do just that. Practice using your gifts to honor God and you will soon find that God will use your gifts to bless those around you too. It's gotta make you wonder...

Dear Lord, please help my friends and I to discover Your giftings in our lives. Help us to use these gifts to honor and serve you. And somewhere along the way, please allow those gifts to bless those people with whom we come into contact. And may Your light shine brighter because of our willingness to listen to You.