Fan the Gifts God has Given You
Every one of us has been placed here by God for a reason. We each have unique gifts. How do you know what your gifting is? You will feel His joy and pleasure over you when you use it. You may get feedback from others that your gift blessed them. What are you good at? What are your skills? What do you enjoy doing? Your giftings are hidden in your talents and interests. Our son is really gifted with computers, so when we have a computer or technical problem, we go to him for help. He built us a computer from an empty box when he was in high school and that computer ran for many years. That is what you call a gifting, a talent that my husband or I definitely do not have! He is now a mid-level developer.
The Bible tells us to 2 Timothy 1:6 New American Standard Bible to KINDLE our gifts:
For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Yes, kindle the gift of God in you. “Kindle” here means “to kindle up, to stir up, to inflame one’s mind, strength, zeal” and comes from a word that means “fire”. How do you kindle a fire? Maybe you haven’t even started the fire to begin to kindle your talents. So start with some tinder- this is the smallest material, like small shavings or shreds of material to get the fire going. It’s ok to start small. I started using my teaching gift in a very small group of women who met for potluck lunch and enjoyed hearing me teach. We only had about four to six ladies. This allowed me to practice my gift. If you are not using your gift anywhere, ask God to show you a small place that you could start.
Next add the kindling. Kindling is larger than tinder and includes dry wood, tree twigs, branches, pinecones, whatever is around that you could use. My next step in using my gift was in our small group Bible study. This was a little bit bigger step in using my gift to teach. After the kindling gets the fire going, you add the logs and the fire flames up. What might be your next step in using your gift? For me, it was to begin my blog in order to share what I had learned over the years and what I am currently learning from the Bible.
All fires will eventually die out unless you keep feeding them. Keep feeding the fire of your gifting by using your gift! Add more fuel to your fire. Keep stoking your fire. Blow on your fire to add oxygen to it and increase the flame. There is a lesson here-if you don’t use your gift, it may fade and it is certainly not going to grow. If your gift is teaching, not everyone can be the main preacher or teacher in a church, but if you seek and ask God to help you, I know He will find you somewhere for you to use your gift. So in order to kindle your gift…Use it! Grow it! Develop it!
Where could you use your gift? Maybe start there. In 1 Peter 4:10 NASB, we read more about a great way to use our gifts::
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.
Use your gift to serve others! If you love to work with children, try volunteering in your Children’s Church. If you are great at administration, ask if anyone at your church needs help with organizing. Maybe you love to cook, so ask who is having a hard time in your neighborhood and cook them a meal. You don’t have to wait for a BIG opportunity to come to you before you start using your gift; you can find a small way to start using your gift. Remember the tinder? Start small and fan the flame and your talent and gift will grow!
So moms, don’t wait for a big opportunity before you use your gifts, go ahead and start small and this will
KINDLE YOUR GIFT SO THAT IT WILL GROW!
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 