I have friends who are amazing writers with some of the most creative minds. I wish writing came easy to me. I have friends who are great at leading worship and gifted in helping people enter into the presence of God. I have a hard time just focusing on God, let alone helping others do the same. There are people who have such a deep understanding of the Bible and can share what they learn of God in ways I could only dream of doing.
It breaks my heart that in our culture we compare and condemn ourselves for things we may not be exceptional at, instead of rejoicing with those who have been gifted in those areas. Why do we do this? Why can't we just accept the gifts God has given us? Could it be because we don't understand who God is and don't really believe that our gifts are from Him?
We must first understand Who is the Giver of these gifts, before we are able to properly respond.
I'll be the first one to admit that I have been caught up in the sin of comparing myself to others, wishing I was different than who God made me to be. This isn't a small thing. It's pride. It is believing that our plan for us is better than God's!
Seriously! Praise the Lord that He changed my perspective. When I first believed in Jesus, He was not much bigger than I was, in my mind. A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the greatness of God and the things He has already taught me. I was thinking about Isaiah 40 that says God measures the heavens with the breadth of His hand. In college my friend and I would look up at the sky and try to imagine how big God's hand must be to be able to hold the entire universe! My hand would always be stretched as far as possible to try to help, so in my mind God was straining His hand to hold the universe. As I was remembering this, I saw an image of a hand that was relaxed and soft, yet at the same time had incredible strength. In that hand were stars and galaxies. It led me to write the poem below.
Once again, God enlarged my view of Him. He continues to make Himself big and myself small! The Lord, who created the galaxies, who engraved our names on His hand, has hand picked and gifted us in ways that would most glorify Him! Instead of complaining about what gifts we might not have, we should be praising Him and rejoicing in the gifts He has given us!
We must also know who we are in Christ, before we can respond.
We are His child. We are loved. However, we are NOT God. He is the potter and we are the clay, which means He gifts us in ways He desires, not ways we desire. I will admit, I have not always loved this fact. I used to think God only gave me callings or giftings that were not what I wanted just to test me and to see if I loved Him enough to obey. This is NOT the Father's heart. He loves us and as we seek a relationship with Him, His plans for us become our desires and He blesses us with them. I will say it again, though. We are NOT God. We do not choose our blessings, gifts, and callings - God does!
So what do we do about this? We all have special giftings from God the Father, which He has given us for His glory. Where we are physically located on the earth isn't a coincidence. Who we know and interact with, either on a daily basis or a one time passing, isn't a coincidence. We are to serve God right where we are at! I'll be honest, this is a simple truth, but it is not always easy. I don't know about you, but I usually make things way harder and more complicated than they need to be. We don't need to do anything big or extravagant for God. In fact, we can't. He isn't looking to us to save the world. He has already done that. Victory is already His. He is simply asking us to be faithful to loving the people around us.
If you are having a hard time knowing where to serve God where you are, here are a few suggestions.
*Seek God. The more seek Jesus, the more He will reveal His heart to you, the more He will change you into His likeness, and the more you will be able to show His love to others.
*Pray for God to open doors for you to serve people, share the love of Christ, edify the church, and ultimately glorify our God. He will answer those prayers! After you pray, start looking! Look for opportunities to serve and love those around you. You'll be surprised at how the smallest act can reveal God's love to people.
*Ask people around you, especially your family, what you can do to show them love. People receive love in different ways. If they feel loved in a way that's hard for you to show, practice. Words of affirmation is one area I am still working on. I'm not very good at lifting people up with my words, but by the grace of God, He is teaching me.
*Get involved. Ask at church, where is an area you can serve. Look for places in the community to volunteer. If you're talking to someone who is struggling, ask if you can pray for them. At work, go the extra mile...bring coffee to a co-worker, eat lunch with people and get to know them on a deeper level, park in a spot further away, so others can have the best spots, smile, the list goes on and on; get creative!
God created you. He loves you. He holds you in His infinite hand. He wants to bless you and use you today. Let Him.
