Growing Our Spiritual Gifts

I have been an avid reader all my life, and though I’d never seriously attempted to write, I’d dabbled from time to time.  Being a novelist seemed to be the greatest profession in the world and I harbored secret dreams that it may come true someday…  never mind that my creative juices ran out right around the third chapter!  Every.  Single.  Time.
In 2008, I quit my Corporate America job, with the hopes of writing the next great American novel within a year.  That idea seems laughable now…  both the unrealistic timeline and true to form, my “novel” has never gotten past two or three chapters.  However, I did begin writing.  It just wasn’t the kind of writing I’d envisioned.  Even before I was walking with God, He had a different plan in mind…
Today, I’m heavily published in my community, with articles appearing almost monthly in two community magazines, and two seasonal publications.  I have taken tremendous pride in my writing, time and again, taking sole credit for it.  But writing isn’t something I can take credit for any more.
Even before I re-committed my life to Christ, the gift of writing was just that — a gift. This summer, when I began to get serious about my faith, I finally thanked God for giving me this skill.  I began to pray for an opportunity to use it to His glory.
This blog was born out of those prayers and while I have no idea what will happen with it, God knows.  And that’s all that matters.  I’m using this blog to exercise my spiritual gift from God…  writing.  It gives me an opportunity to study His word in a new way.
My Bible reading this morning was from 1 Corinthians 12:1 – 11, and it spoke of our unique spiritual gifts:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:  You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

The next part of the chapter moves on to comparing the church of Christ to the body being made of up many parts…  it takes the collective talents of so many to make a ministry happen!

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…  ~Ephesians 4:11-12

We hear of people who have a “calling.”  They are called to be a nurse, a teacher, a firefighter…  These are the people who have their profession practically running through their veins.  They don’t do what they do because it pays the bills…  they do it because they feel compelled to…  If you are a Christian – rest assured, you HAVE a spiritual gift and God WILL find a way to put it to use.  You too will be CALLED to do something and you won’t feel content unless you do.  If you aren’t sure what your spiritual gift is, then pray that God will show you.  But I warn you — the Holy Spirit may use your spiritual gift to challenge you in unexpected ways.
I can say wholeheartedly that even though I’ve been using the gift of writing for years, THIS kind of writing — faith-based writing — is, by far, my biggest challenge ever.  God has put the burden on me though and I’m praying for the courage to accept the challenge.  This kind of writing is going to open me up to scrutiny and criticism more than any other kind I’ve done — and like most people, I don’t like being criticized!  However, I feel led to share what God has placed on my heart.  God is in the driver’s seat and I, the worst passenger in the world (ask anyone who has ridden in a car with me), am learning to sit back, let go, and let God.
Please pray for me as I exercise this gift from our Heavenly Father, and please pray for me as I work to grow in my faith every day.  And I will pray for you too, that you will discover your own unique way to honor the Lord!

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…  ~Colossians 1:9-13