Gifts

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophesy, in proportion to faith; ministering, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Romans 12:3-8

God gives us gifts. Each one of us has been given a different gift, but all can be used to glorify what God has done in our lives.

On September 11, 2001, Lisa Jefferson had an unexpected opportunity to be used by God. Her now well-known 15-minute conversation with a passenger of United Flight 93 forever changed the direction of her life. In her book Called, she emphasizes that her listening skills and her ability to take charge and stay calm in a crisis were used to encourage fellow believer Todd Beamer in the last moments of his life. She did not ask to be used that way. But God saw a woman who was available and matched her with someone who was in need. Lisa now shares her story to encourage believers to always be ready to serve.

Not only has God given us natural abilities, He also equips every believer with spiritual gifts for the purpose of ministry. God doesn’t use the unwilling – He won’t force us to serve Him. His part is to equip us and empower and prepare us for service. Our part is to be faithful and available and aware of opportunities to use our gifts. When you feel impelled to help fill a need, when you are inwardly driven to serve – listen to those thoughts. You don’t want to miss God’s call.

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary work.

Our Daily Bread – September 11, 2008