I truly believe God has gifted each and every one of us to fulfill our purpose and live out the calling or callings He’s placed on our lives. (After all, that’s biblical.) Some are gifted for teaching and preaching. Others are naturally generous or filled with incredible faith. Some are so good at seeing when someone is in desperate need of encouragement and always seem to have just the right words. Still others are blessed with great knowledge and wisdom. God has gifted us all in different ways to fulfill different roles to build up the body of Christ and bring glory to Him.
But, having a gift, doesn’t mean we’ll always be motivated to use it to the fullest. It doesn’t mean we’ll never struggle with disappointment and discouragement in our ministries. For instance, when I come home exhausted and feeling like I’ve been run over by a mack truck after a crazy busy Monday at work, I’m not motivated and thinking, “I’m just so blessed to have been given my writing ministry and can’t wait to work some more tonight!” I wish I were that sanctified, but I’m not… I’m thinking I’d like to find out what it’s like to actually get eight hours of sleep, or I’d like to loaf on my couch and enjoy a novel. Being really honest, if the day has left me pretty cranky, I’m letting terrible thoughts like, “If God wanted me to write tonight, He could have made the workday easier,” or “If God wants me to keep this up much longer, He needs to open up some doors or part a sea,” creep in. Spiritual gifts are, without question, tremendous blessings from the Lord. But, at times, using them, living them out, still takes an act of will.
Paul addressed this in both of his letters to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul urged Timothy not to neglect the gift within him, and in 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul wrote, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” The gift was there, but Timothy was responsible for making full use of it. When Timothy was perhaps tempted toward discouragement because he had to work harder to be taken seriously due to his young age, Timothy had to remember the gift within him and not neglect it but continue to minister. Timothy had to study and meditate on the Word both to be encouraged thereby and to be able to teach and preach to others effectively. Timothy had to stir up or fan into flame the gift within him so that he wouldn’t be discouraged or frightened by the sufferings of Paul, his mentor in the faith and a father-figure to him. Timothy couldn’t let fear creep in but had to remain unashamed of the gospel and willing to suffer for it. Timothy had to remember theirs was a holy calling, and he had to put in the effort. He had to make sure his gift wasn’t neglected, that his fire didn’t burn out.
The same is true for Christians today. Gifted pastors and Sunday School teachers still can’t just show up on Sunday morning and expect to preach and teach well. They have to put the work in. They have to be intentional about studying the Word and preparing their sermon or lesson. They have to be praying and working to maintain their own personal relationship with Christ, or it will be that much easier for them to become discouraged or distracted. Even worse, it will be that much easier for them to fall into sin and do serious damage to their testimony.
Gifts are great, but they have to be used. And, sometimes, using them requires making sacrifices and pushing ourselves. God doesn’t give us a ministry without gifting and equipping us for it, but being gifted and equipped doesn’t mean we’ll have it easy. It doesn’t mean we won’t face intense battles because so often our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak.
Drawing from personal experience, over and over again in my writing ministry, I’ve found that, if I’ll be intentional about getting my Bible out and working on a lesson even though I don’t feel like my focus is there or even though I’m exhausted or discouraged, it usually still starts out a bit rough. I’ll write a sentence just to mark it out or write a paragraph only to rephrase half of it. But, then, usually after a break for focused prayer, the words start flowing as naturally as breathing, and by the time I put the pen down, I’m more refreshed than I would be from eight hours of sleep or from an evening spent relaxing on the couch. That’s God’s blessing. That’s God’s goodness poured out.
So, yes, sometimes, it’s easier to neglect our gifts. Sometimes, it’s easier to just stay distracted or wallow in our discouragement. But, when we choose instead to stir up our gift, to do what it takes to stay passionate and inspired in our ministry, to be intentional about walking closer and closer to the Lord, to fan our gift into a roaring flame so it can be used to the fullest, as God intends, it is always, always worth it.
For the Journey Literature 