How do you use God's gifts?
December 18-22, 2023 | Always Peachy Devotionals | God's Gifts Week 3
Have you ever tried to use an invisible gift?
God’s gifts aren’t like the ones we’ll be opening in a few weeks. His gifts take a different form, whether you’re talking about salvation or the Holy Spirit or even the special abilities He grants us.
The thing you have to remember about reality is that the things that will last are unseen. Everything physical, everything that you can interact with on a physical, tangible level on Earth will eventually pass away. It’s the invisible, spiritual things that last forever. It’s your soul. It’s your spirit. It’s your heart and motivation and actions that are in line with God’s Word. Those things resonate through eternity and have a lasting impact, not just in this world but in the world to come.
But that doesn’t help us know how to use our spiritual gifts, does it? It’s not like there’s a Spiritual Gift Ikea with hard-to-read diagrams that tell us what we’re doing.
Spiritual gifts are unique and individual and special. Whatever spiritual gift you have received, there may be a specific way for you to use it. And it may be different from the person next to you who got the same gift but has a different skillset.
I know. It’s confusing. And intimidating!
So that’s what we’re going to talk about this week: How do you use God’s gifts? Because it’s one thing to identify them. It’s another thing to receive them. It’s something else entirely to implement them.
Dec 18 - You have to use them (2 Timothy 1:6)
Dec 19 - Use them today! (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Dec 20 - They don’t expire (Joel 2:12)
Dec 21 - Read the instructions (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Dec 22- Your gifts aren’t for you (1 Corinthians 12:7)
Using God’s gifts in our lives isn’t intuitive if you’re more familiar with the way the world words than the way God’s Kingdom works. Spiritual living is usually the opposite of what we know and recognize in the world. God’s economy runs on a different currency, so it’s not a good idea to take the world’s advice when you’re trying to decide how to use your gifts.
God’s way may not make sense down here, but down here isn’t all that matters.
Ultimately, our spiritual gifts are intended for a greater purpose than even our own personal calling. The spiritual gifts are here to support and encourage each other. Our spiritual gifts aren’t even for us.
That’s what led me to our memory verse for this week, 1 Peter 4:10.
I truly believe there are as many spiritual gifts as there are people. Sure, they can be categorized, but in application and implementation, our spiritual gifts are as vast and varied as we are.
I hope you’re celebrating that today. I am. Because if God had given me the spiritual gift of Accounting (if that even exists), I’d be miserable. Nope, instead He gave me a spiritual gift of understanding and communication (basically I just like to talk). It comes naturally to me. God made me a storyteller, and now I get to use my natural gifts for His purposes in the power of His Holy Spirit.
If that isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. I hope and pray you are able to understand your own spiritual gifts from a new perspective today!
Praying for you all!
Amy
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