In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 I read, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.” (GW)
When I know what I’m shaped to be, then I know what I ought to be, and I can start focusing on that and make better use of my life.
The moment I step across the line spiritually and begin following Jesus, I say, “I’m going to go God’s way, not my own way. I’m going to let him direct my life. I want to follow God’s purpose, not my purpose. I’m going to do what I was wired and made to do.”
After I take that step, God does four things for me: He forgives me, he gives me eternal life, he gives me the Holy Spirit, and he gives me special abilities.
In the Bible, these special abilities are called spiritual gifts, which makes them different from material or physical gifts. They are the abilities I need to get the job done that God wants me to do. Most people who are believers don’t even know they’ve got spiritual gifts, much less what they are. But I have them!
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” (GW).
God has a purpose for my life, and my spiritual gifts are the equipment he gives me to do what he asks me to do. God will never ask me to do something he doesn’t give me the ability to do. It’s given to me the moment I accept Christ. I don’t get to choose my gift. I don’t earn my gift.
It’s also not for my benefit. My spiritual gifts are given to me to help others. And other people in the church family are given their gifts to help me.
When I use my spiritual gift, the people in my church get blessed. When we develop and use our spiritual gifts, we all get blessed.
To get that blessing and make the most of your life, I need to figure out how God shaped me and what spiritual gifts he gave me.
In summary, there are different gifts, different ways of serving and different types of work to do. They come from the same Spirit and the Lord. When I know what I’m shaped to be, then I know what I ought to be, and I can start focusing on that and make better use of my life. The moment I stepped across the line spiritually and began following Jesus, God did four things for me: He forgave me, he gave me eternal life, he gave me the Holy Spirit, and he gave me special abilities. These special abilities are called spiritual gifts. They are the abilities I need to get the job done that God wants me to do. God has a purpose for my life, and my spiritual gifts are the equipment he gives me to do what he asks. God will never ask me to do something he doesn’t give me the ability to do. I don’t get to choose or earn my gift, and it’s also not for my benefit. My spiritual gifts are given to me to help others. And other people in the church family are given their gifts to help me. To get that blessing and make the most of your life, I need to figure out how God shaped me and what spiritual gifts he gave me.
God is completely involved in giving, using, and empowering of gifts. While my specific gifts and acts of service may vary from others, they will have the most effect when I use them to help build up the body of Christ and others. God has created a unique place for me in the body of the church and in people's lives. Part of my adventure will involve discovering and then using and making my service available to God. Serving God and his people should be my motivation as I utilize the gifts he has given me.
Lord, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to continue to discover my SHAPE so that I can serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I ask these things through you Son Jesus’ name, amen.
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