Gifts and Talents

Gifts and Talents

I recently taught a class for the Jr. High Ministry about gifts and talents.  We talked about the different gifts and the parable of the talents.  After I taught this lesson He said to me (in my spirit) "When you recognize that the things are put in you are gifts from me and not pitfalls, setbacks or self-made, then and only then, can you truly flourish".  

What does that mean you ask?

Well, God is the creator.  

Psalm 139:13 tells us

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb"

He formed all of me.  He placed certain things in me while He was creating me. Another thing I know about God is that He is no duplicator.  We are each made different, we each have a specific job in His Kingdom.  From birth, the devil comes after us with lies trying to convince us that those "gifts" are really "curses".  We spend our entire lives trying to "fit in" be like someone else and we despise these unique personality traits or characteristics about ourselves.  We listen to lies after lies telling us we aren't good enough, that we need to hide those things about ourselves and the whole time those things are really our very gifts for the kingdom.  Everything placed inside you is a gift and the sooner we recognize that the sooner we can use them for the kingdom rather than the enemy's camp.  We need to get a hold of this truth early because guess what?  The enemy knows that what we have in us are talents and gifts, and if we are unaware of those things then he knows exactly how to manipulate us to use them wrong and get us into dark scary places.  But if we know our gifts, by knowing who we are in Christ, then we won't fall for those tricks.  We will recognize his games and easily avoid those pit falls. 

What have people called you?

Shy

Annoying

lazy

Let's talk about how those may be hidden gifts:

Kingdom gift is "Observant" - Means you are slow to jump in the middle of things.  You observe and learn your environment allowing you a "birds eye" view of everything.  You can more effectively reach people through understanding.  

The enemy calls it "shy" and will try to tell you this is a bad thing and bring forth fear.  Fear of what people think about you, overthinking situations and isolate you convincing you that you don't actually like people. 

Kingdom gift is "excited and all in" - Means you are outgoing and quick to jump all in.  You like to be a leader and aren't afraid of what people think about you.  

But satan will call it "annoying" and tell you that no one likes you and you need to calm down.  Stop putting yourself out there because people are judging you, so you mask that boisterous fun side and build walls around the very things that makes you, you.

Kingdom gift is "ingenuity"  - Means you find smarter ways of living.  You like quite time and puzzles while figuring things out.  You can enjoy life more because you don't get caught up in the need to impress or overwork. 

The enemy calls it "lazy" and will tell you that you will never amount to anything.  You will be poor and broke and no one will respect you because you avoid the standard way to work.  So, you give up quickly and refuse to put yourself out there to learn and grow.  

We have a choice.  The choice seems simple when I lay it out like this but is not so simple when you are doing this thing called life.  Your choice is, use your gift to help you expand the kingdom thus resulting in your flourishing, or embrace the lies, ignore those gifts and let them manifest into the things the enemy tells us they are.  How do we make that choice?  Ask God to reveal to you what those "hidden" talents are?  What are those things that you have pushed down and allowed the devil to use against you to bring cursing on your life?  Is it possible that those very things could be your GREATEST gifts to the kingdom?  Why would the enemy fight so hard to use them against us if they weren't? 

Ephesians 2:10 

For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1 Peter 4:10

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.  

Take some time today and name those things about yourself that you have always tried to push down, hide or change.  Then list at least 3 ways that they have caused hardships in your life, then 5 ways you can change and use them for the kingdom.  Stop comparing your gifts, stop hiding your personality, stop trying to change those characteristics.  Thank God for knitting you together and making you unique.  The sooner we get a hold of "who we are in Christ" the sooner we advance the Kingdom because we are each using our unique gifts that were hand made to do just that.