Using your God given gift is like learning how to ride a bike.
You get one for Christmas as a young child. You have rarely seen it used before, but you know it is now yours to enjoy! And after all, there are not too many kids in your neighborhood have bikes like this just yet.
You can’t just leave it in the Box…You have to open it.
You might even have to read the instructions and put it together peice by piece. But maybe your dad has done all this for you, and your new bike is ready to ride!
You cant then store it away in the garage and expect to supernaturally learn how to ride it! You have to go out there every day and try…and then keep trying to learn how to use it effectively.
You may not have an earthly father or spiritual mentor to take you by the hand and support you 100% of the time, until you learn. No. You might just have to teach yourself, seek it out for yourself. But there’s one thing you absolutely should not do – give up. Never, ever Give up.
You may look and say, “Oh, it’s just hands on the bars, and feet on the petals, that’s it.” But when you try to do what you have watched others do so effortlessly, all you do is hit the ground. Somthing is not working, until someone shares with you the missing piece, their precious wisdom and advice: “you have to learn to balance first.”
Step out there. Climb onto your bike. Get really comfortable resting on it and practice your balance. Because the pedaling, and the steering are the easy parts. It’s the balance that will make or break your success.
And, sure, now you can jump on and go. But you won’t do very well unless you set your sights, your vision, on a clear destination.
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Lately, I’ve felt like that little girl on a bike, trying to peddle, trying to steer, and all I do is topple over. The quitters-voice inside me says, forget it, give up, go back inside and play with the easy toys.
Romans 12:6-8 says “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
I love how this passage follows each gift with a mandate, “then do it, and do it well!”
There are many spiritual gifts that the Lord gives his children. It is valuable to know what your gift is, and then learn how to use it effectively. And you may say, “but I don’t have a gift!” I assure you that you do!! If Jesus is your savior, then there are gifts inside your spirit, ready to be used for His Glory! My wise hubby and I often take a “Spiritual Gifts Test” – every few years or so, to re-define our spiritual gifts. We use this one at churchgrowth.org.
All of the members of our Sunday School class also took this test with us last fall and we discussed it as a group. One thing we found in most couples was that the husband and wife had unique gifts that complimented each other. Where the husband would score very high in say Evangelism, the wife would score extremely low. And when the wife would score high in one spiritual area, the husband would score low. It was empowering for our couples to see how God has uniquely matched us with our soul mates.
Maybe you’re like me and you know what your gift is, but when you exercise that gift and begin to use it – you often feel as if maybe this gift is not really something you know how to use just yet. I challenge you to join me in putting your feet on the pedals, gripping your hands on the bars, and balancing your spirit through prayer, to learn how to use your gift well, with great success to Glorify God and journey out into a new destination.