Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A Gift From God


Don’t waste your life trying to fit into a “gift box” that feels too big or too small. Your God-given gift perfectly fits your personality and is your purpose and position to win victory. Sheri Rose Shepherd – My Prince Will Come

The sad thing about this whole subject of our God-given gifts is the fact that some people don’t think they have any at all. They look around instead of in and to see what other people have and don’t notice their own God-given gift inside of them. They are like kids at Christmas who count the number of gifts they have compared to their siblings. The person with the most must be loved the most. To get a gift bigger than the others is a clincher to prove they are the “favored” one of the family.

The difference between the gifts we get and the gifts God gives us is the packaging. We go out of our way to wrap nice and neatly the gifts we plan to give someone. Then we either deliver them personally or we mail them with our return address on them so the person knows where they are coming from. Most of the time, maybe not always, we get the things we asked for or requested for Christmas, our birthday, anniversary, or whatever.

However, the gifts our Heavenly Father gives us don’t always come in packages that are recognizable. They never are designated to arrive at a certain time of year and they don’t always contain the things we necessarily “wanted.” However one thing we do know about them is the fact they are designed to fit our personality. There for our purpose and position to win victory in Christ in our lives.

We can’t be sitting in the sanctuary on Sunday looking around comparing who got the bigger gifts. At the same time wondering “why wasn’t I given the gift of music instead of the gift of encouragement, serving in the kitchen, or writing.” It’s not our job to measure the gift to see if it was too small or too big for us. Our job is to take what we have and use it to the glory of God and the benefit of His kingdom.

As we would never leave a gift unopened that we’ve received we must not leave the gifts of God unopened as well. Get it out, use it, enjoy what God has picked out for you instead of looking at the price tag and wondering if He spent as much on you as He did someone else. Trust me the price tag’s the same.

God’s gifts have a purpose, a plan, and a place in our lives if we use them as they are intended to be used. I was one of those people who wanted the gift of a beautiful voice when I was 14-years-old to sing in the choir but I was given the gift of writing when I was 50-years-old. Packaged a little differently, arriving later than I had wanted I got my beautiful voice. It’s a voice that comes out on paper instead of through music. A gift in itself, Praise the Lord!

Part of the joy of receiving a gift is waiting for its arrival. It may come when we are 12-years-old, 34-years-old, or 57-years-old we never know but we need to anticipate its arrival because believe it or not, God has a gift for us all. A gift that is custom made, hand designed, made in Heaven, and delivered to us personally. Wait for its arrival, use it when it comes and never return it unopened.


© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

5 comments:

Tami said...

It’s not our job to measure the gift to see if it was too small or too big for us.

Amen, Karen, amen.

Debbie Petras said...

Karen, you do have gift of writing but it was only when you reached 57 that you discovered it. God is so good, isn't He?

I used to wish I had the gift of singing too. I even have a very musical family but it completely skipped me somehow. LOL.

You always give me things to consider in your writings. I enjoy each IOWT post.

Blessings,
Debbie

Nic said...

Sweet Karen, how I adore you! I love your take on this week's IOW. Very well written and wise words indeed and ones that truly need to be shared. :-) You get to use your gift for us every week and that's really cool!

(P.S. I for one LOVE my gift of encouragement!)

Anonymous said...

Accepting God's gifts without comparing ourselves to others and using them to bless others are sometimes hard lessons learn. I am so glad you found your voice, even if it wasn't quite what you had anticipated.

Denise J. Hughes said...

Wow, Karen. This post is deeply personal and very touching. Yes, indeed, God did give you a voice - a very beautiful voice. Thank you for blessing us with your voice every week.