Do you know that you are
gifted? You have special abilities that are both the same and different than
others around you. What I am taking about is not the kind of gift you give
someone for their birthday or Christmas, or any other holiday gifting time; it
is the gift of God.
What profit has the worker
from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given
task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything
beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no
one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is
better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and
also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it
is the gift of God. Ecclesiastics 3:9-14Most of us do not thing of the fact that we have food, drink and even jobs but those are not to be taken for granted for they too are a gift of God. We walk in the life we are living but things can change when we realize that God has gifted us with these packaged that we have not opened yet! If life is slow moving for you and you are not in your dream job yet, trust God to bring you to it then walk in it! Sometimes we work someplace for ‘such a time as this’ as Esther did in the book of Esther. Jobs we take are not always the jobs we would like to be in but often we take them because they pay the bills. Gifts we are given often come in different looking packages.
In my church service yesterday Pastor Joe used as an example the wrapping of gifts. He wrapped one recklessly and it sort of messy looking. I know he was focusing on the Wrapping topic but it made me think about what’s inside. For instance, when I unwrapped the gift and wrote my first outline for a Vacation Bible School day camp I did not know I was doing anything other than filling a need for a friend. Since this has been going on for a few years I have been able to bless others with this and really enjoyed the work!
When I wrote my first devotional I did not know that God would keep them coming! He keeps gifting me with ideas, so I write them down.
Sometimes our gifts come in different packages. We think we are doing someone a favor and yet God is giving us something that will turn into something even bigger, and better than we could imagine, Even though we do not deserve the gifts we get most of the time, He still gives because He loves us.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10
The biggest gift we have been given is Christ Jesus, because through Him we get to really now the Father God, and have the assistance of the Holy Spirit God with us daily in all that we do.
There are other gifts as well, you may have read about Spiritual Gifts, or some of these scriptures. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3, 14,1-12.
Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. 1 Corinthians 14:12
On Christmas morning, or whatever holiday you give gifts, stop and think for a moment about the reason the gift was given. Don’t just take it at face value for every gift is given for a purpose. The person who bought it, or made it for you had a reason to give it to you. In the same way God has chosen the gifts He gave or gives you too. Even if we do not realize the reasoning behind the gifts we can know that if God gave us a gifting, then w can trust that it was for His purpose.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, from the Father!
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. James 1:16-18
Perhaps your gift is still sitting there waiting to be unwrapped? Or maybe you have opened it and put it on a shelf to wait to be used, but whatever it is that God has presented you with use it for His glory!
If you received new shoes for Christmas, you can use them to walk, run or dance your way to giving Him the Glory for your life.
If you have a gift of teaching, you can teach, even though it may not be the class room you thought you would get you can teach wherever God puts you. Sort of like the ‘Bloom where you are planted...” thing. Present the gift of Grace to those around you, the gift of love, the gift of peace, hope, and joy.
Think on these things; what can we do to share the gift of Jesus Christ to us, this year?
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” Ephesians 4:5-8
Lets be thankful for the small things that He has done, and we can help others to be thankful too!
Suggested Readings: 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 James 1 1-27,