National Football League player Joe Anderson was released from his first team due to injuries. But possessing a powerful physique, Anderson knew he was uniquely qualified for an athletic career. To try and join a new team, he stood outside an NFL sports stadium holding a hand-made sign. The sign read: “ . . . starving for SUCCESS!!!” and had hashtags: #whateverittakes and #ibelieve. During his job quest, which ended successfully, he commented: “I’m outside [the stadium] . . . every morning, because I know what type of gift God has blessed me with!”
While Joe realized his physical gifts came from God, the Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all believers in Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:11). Recognizing these gifts is important because they reveal how God wants us to be “employed” for Him. Our individual Spirit-given abilities link with the needs of other believers to help advance God’s kingdom.
God doesn’t seek blind devotion from robot-like workers. He sees us as individuals and cares about the purpose that can come from effectively serving Him. Paul was passionate about using his gift of evangelism to honor God. He said his life was worth living when he was using it for the work Jesus had given him—“the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
Are you wondering how to serve within the body of Christ? Consider how God has uniquely equipped you. Do you have the ability to give wise advice, exhibit great faith, or discern whether a message is from God? (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). Are you a natural leader, teacher, or helper? (1 Corinthians 12:28). These are only a few of the gifts. “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us” (1 Corinthians 12:6).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Galatians 5:13-26
More:
Read Ephesians 4:11-13 to learn about the link between the use of spiritual gifts and maturity in Jesus.
Next:
How might you affirm the spiritual gifts of another believer in Jesus? Do you believe certain seasons in life could change the use of some gifts? Why or why not?
Gary Shultz on November 28, 2016 at 5:58 am
Hi Jennifer, you are a busy lady. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving…. I guess I must always remind myself that we think as humans. We usually think in limited boxes and forget God does nothing that orbs out of His watch or control. He never runs out of anything and has calculated, with reserve, anything and everything that faces an individual and at the same time He embraces the total sum of all in the world. Nothing “slips through the cracks”. That is hard for us to continually remember, because we be convinced by our experience certain things just don’t happen….Now in saying all of that, we know if we are children of God, He has blessed us with at least one gift for the body and for His glory, usually more. He has every intent that we use that gift(s) and He will extend the power and help to make that gift a blessing to Himself to others and ourselves. He has no problem with that, we just can’t seem to grasp that at times. God can change our course as individuals. God may add or subtract for His purposes or because of our failures; remembering some of those parables. Everyone needs grace as they exercise their gift, few come “out of the box” at peak performance. The process is part of the gift learning who and how it has been given and for what reason. Sorry Jennifer, this has stretched very long, but there is no empty-tank with God in any respect, we need to remember that as we are propelled into our duties. We need to remember what you have posted, it can even be a gift to help others with their gifts, to make the body work well. Thanks Jennifer
jennifer benson schuldt on November 28, 2016 at 2:56 pm
Hi Gary,
As I think about the necessity of learning how to use certain gifts and developing them for God’s glory, I think of my father. I’m pretty sure he has the spiritual gift of teaching. When I was little, he began to teach the adult Sunday School class at our church. His lessons (by God’s grace) were quite well received by the people in the class. It wasn’t until years later that I learned he had taken a special “public speaking” course to develop the presentation skills necessary to exercise his teaching gift. May God give us the wisdom to know how to effectively use and develop the gifts God has given us.
hsnpoor on November 28, 2016 at 8:48 am
I am so conflicted & confused on this issue of spiritual gifting. I know what the gifts are, why they are & how they are to be used. My confusion & conflict comes from the insistence that we, as believers, should diligently search to discover what are spiritual gifting is. I don’t find that clearly supported in scripture, nor any instruction on how to accomplish that, if it is true. I do agree with Jennifer that God doesn’t seek robot-like workers, but he knows the full script and how he has equipped us to fit into it. My experience has shown me that I have been supernaturally used by God to do things I never would have thought of doing, after the fact. In other words, I didn’t seek, find and use my gift, but rather I was simply available and willing and the Holy Spirit guided me into situations where I was useful to someone or to a situation or cause that clearly, in hindsight, was the will of God and not some project of my own conception. What makes it more confusing is that I wouldn’t say the same gifting was involved in all of the situations. I’ve given a lot of thought and prayed about this and I don’t have a clear resolve. Maybe scripture does clearly instruct us to discover our gifting and I’m just missing it or am blinded to it. I know we have them, need to stir them up (assume that means use them often and effectively once you know what they are) and that they are for the benefit of the body, not personal gain. But, I’m thinking that because of our prideful tendencies, God will simply help himself to our lives according to his good pleasure and purpose and, quite frankly, that’s alright with me. For now.
envirotact on November 28, 2016 at 10:09 am
Hsnpoor….I believe that the great Oswald Chambers would agree with you and your thoughts and feelings on this topic. In his book, “My Utmost for His Highest” – Nov. 11, he says “Always guard against self-chosen service for God.” I could list many more such warnings from this much beloved devotional. Here’s another…March 4 – “Never consider whether or not you are of use – but always consider that you are not your own. You are His.
hsnpoor on November 28, 2016 at 3:19 pm
envirotact, thank you for that great observation! That may very well be the source of my confusion because I have been a very consistent reader of MUFHH for more than 20-years now. His devotional observations never get old to me and rarely, if ever, conflict with my understanding of theological doctrine and spiritual experience. BUT, on the rare occasion it does, further investigation will always show his observations have put me on track where I’ve gotten off track. Early in my Christian walk, some people who were discipling me made two recommendations: 1). Read one Chapter of Proverbs a day and 2). Read MUFHH daily. I’ve been doing both fairly religiously for almost 25-years.
jennifer benson schuldt on November 28, 2016 at 3:15 pm
hsnpoor,
It sounds like you have the right attitude about serving God. You’re willing to do it as He presents opportunities to you. You feel He has used you supernaturally in the past and you’re willing for that to continue in the future, without regard to how He chooses to use you. There’s something so beautifully humble in that. With a glance back at the text, there may be some value in knowing what gifts we have, since the Bible names them specifically. Maybe there’s a pattern in your Christian service that others see, but may be unclear to you? In the end, I believe God will make your gifts clear in His time. Until then, know that He loves you, accepts you and is thoroughly pleased when you serve Him joyfully and freely.
hsnpoor on November 28, 2016 at 3:33 pm
Jennifer, you know as simple, obvious and reasonable as your suggestion to consult with others is, I’ve never done so. I am so blessed to be a member of a very long-standing Life Group and those folks probably know me better than I know myself, in a lot of respects, and I’ll just bet I’ll get a lot of good input and guidance. I think I’ll also suggest we consider doing a good study on spiritual gifting next year. Some of us like to stick only with the Bible on these subject studies, some like to use a formal Bible study on the subject, so we switch it up. Any preference, thoughts or recommendations?
youssef1777 on November 28, 2016 at 9:06 am
THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST . GIVE US HOPE EVEN IF WE FACE PROBLEMS . IT WILL TURN BETTER LIFE IN THE FUTURE .
jennifer benson schuldt on November 28, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Thank you for this message of hope in the LORD!
youssef1777 on November 28, 2016 at 9:18 am
KEEP PRAY AND TRUST IN GOD .
Tom Felten on November 28, 2016 at 9:23 am
Jen, yesterday in our reflection time following the sermon (20-30 people gather to discuss the sermon with the speaker each Sunday, focusing on application), we considered the importance of recognizing that although each one of us has a personal faith and individual gifts, we’re all united in the Body of Christ. This helps us focus on Jesus (not our gifts), and to humbly recognize that whatever we have is to be used and given for spiritual growth and blessing of all believers in Jesus. Thanks for inspiring us to use our gifts to serve others!
jennifer benson schuldt on November 28, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Sounds like a fruitful time of discussion! I agree with what you said about focusing on Jesus rather than our gifts. This helps us breathe a sigh of relief when we feel confused and/or reluctant to serve in ways that don’t seem to fit with our known gifting. God may ask us to serve Him in any number of ways–it’s our devotion to Christ that helps us say “yes” no matter what God may call us to do.
sim jing ying on November 28, 2016 at 11:46 am
I would give a him or her a word of affirmationn from the Bible.
sim jing ying on November 28, 2016 at 11:48 am
I would give a him or her a word of affirmationn from the Bible that whether to certify that is that gift. Yes, gifts change in certain seasons as God will lead us in activating which gift to go with.
sim jing ying on November 28, 2016 at 11:48 am
affirmation*
timoteo123 on November 28, 2016 at 9:44 pm
I believe there are approx 20 spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament. Study Romans ch12, 1Corinthians ch12, and Ephesians ch4 to see the all three of the godhead are involved in the distribution of these gifts. When? Just as we are born with natural talents, likewise when we are born again we recieve spiritual gifts to use for God’s glory & the edification of the Church. How can I know which gifts I possess? There are three guidelines. 1. When God gives me the opportunity to use a particular gift, preaching, teaching, showing mercy ect, can I do it? 2. Do others notice that I’m able to do something that involves using a particular gift? 3. Do I enjoy doing it. If I hate visiting the sick in hospital etc, then I can conclude that showing mercy is not my gift.
hsnpoor on November 29, 2016 at 5:40 pm
Tim, thank you for ringing in on this. I’m very familiar with the scriptural discussion on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. What I’m not familiar with is the scriptural reference for the 3 guidelines you’ve given. As regards guideline #1, I’m a firm believer that God does NOT necessarily call the equipped, but rather equips the called; so whether “I can do it” doesn’t really figure in the equation because I can do whatever God calls me to do because it is God doing it, not me, through me. Guideline #2 is probably a good reference point, mainly because it’s not self-influenced; but, where is the scriptural reference for it? Guideline #3 makes good common sense, but again where is the scriptural reference to support it? Does scripture really say that we are to seek and find our spiritual giftings, or just be aware and knowledgeable about them? If so, where? Chapter and verse, please.
timoteo123 on December 1, 2016 at 10:28 pm
Appreciate ur response, but I’ve been misunderstood. When I said “guidelines” I was simply making suggestions using the parallels between natural talents and spiritual gifts to point someone in the right direction. Guidelines/suggestions concerning spiritual truth should never contradict Scripture, but be very careful when asking for chapter & verse in response to what someone says. The devil is using many false teachers today to preach their sermons & visit homes with an open Bible saying, “It is written” as he say to the Lord Jesus almost 2,000yrs ago. I’ll close by saying that by studying the aforementioned chapters concerning spiritual gifts & the parable of the talents in Mt25v14-30, biblical principles will guide us to a better understanding of this vast & varied subject. May the flesh within not hinder us in our usefulness for God, that we’ll use our gifts given by His grace, for us ultimate glory. The Lord bless you.