Something Out of Nothing

A spiritual gift is a supernaturally designed ability granted to every believer by which the Holy Spirit ministers to the body of Christ. A spiritual gift cannot be earned, pursued or worked up. It is merely "received" through the grace of God.  John MacArthur

Have you identified your spiritual gifts?  What has God given you that can change another person’s life? 

Most of you know that I was an introvert growing up; partly because I have told you and secondly my family can attest to it.  Shyness was a fact of life for me.  I didn’t date much during my high school years.  It’s kind of hard to reconcile, for me anyway, that I was once that shy.  It is even harder for me to see myself getting up and speaking in front of others. 

Tonight my Mom and I are going to speak to a cancer support group in McKinney.  These events are the ones I look forward to the most because I have been in their shoes.  I get really passionate speaking to cancer survivors.  God allowed me to go through the “C” disease for a reason. I believe one of the reasons was so that I could give others suffering from it hope and another reason is so that I could point them in God’s direction.

Every person has suffered from something life has thrown their way.  We all suffer loss, pain, illness and tragedy.  God gives each of us spiritual gifts that He wants us to use for the glory of Him. 

When you decide you will put your faith in Christ, he gifts you with some things. He gives you eternal life, forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit living in us.  It is up to us to determine if we will use them for His Glory or leave them unused. 

I believe my spiritual gifts were hidden until I had cancer.  My spiritual gifts lay dormant until tragedy struck.  I thank God for cancer because it showed me the true picture of who God is and how important He is in my life.  I believe each of us can take our tragedy and turn it around.  There are others who don’t know Him depending on you and me.

Francesca Battistelli wrote a song that speaks to me about this very thing.  She sings “Spent today in a conversation, in the mirror face to face with, somebody less than perfect, I wouldn’t choose me first if I was looking for a champion. In fact I’d understand if You picked everyone before me, True to who You are You saw my heart and made something out of nothing.” God can make something out of nothing.  Take your spiritual gifts and use them for His glory.  He is waiting for you.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I spent a long time ignoring my spiritual gifts.  You blessed me with some amazing abilities and gifts and for many years I didn’t use them.  I pray that You will give me opportunities to use the gifts You have blessed me with.  Help me to touch at least one person’s life tonight for Your glory. 

      

Scripture: Spiritual Gifts

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, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.  Ephesians 4:11-16