“ There are diversity of gifts but the same spirit” - 1 Corinthians 12:4
A few years ago I became really interested (or obsessed which ever word works for you) in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of tongues, interpretation, discernment, knowledge, wisdom, all fascinated me, but none more so than the gift of prophesy. I became so focused on this gift, it seemed to consume my life, I really don’t know why, maybe its my always needing to know why, or always wanting to be secure of what the future holds, but the study of this gift consumed my mind and my relationship with God. I remember praying day after day for the gift, a fervent desperate prayer of “ Lord please!”
One day in my desperation, I heard a small still voice ask me...“Why?”. With one little word the Lord shattered the illusion I was creating for myself. I was turning the desire for the gift into an idol, and the Lord was definitely NOT cool with that.
I figured that if I had the gift of prophesy it would somehow validate my relationship and standing with God. Having the gift of prophesy would distinguish me as a “heavy hitter” in Christendom , set me apart as a favorite of the Lord.
In asking me why, the Lord revealed to me that I wanted the gift for selfish reasons, I wanted to be looked upon as having this great gift which stood as a symbol of my personal greatness and the fact that the Lord saw it, and if the Lord saw it then everyone else should too. When in reality the spiritual gifts are only to be used to glorify God and not to glorify man ( or woman in this case).
This verse isn’t very long but in its few words it manages to convey a very powerful and humbling message, we are nothing. The gifts that the Lord choose to bless us with are just that, gifts, they are not a representation of your specific worth in comparison with anyone else. Anything that the Lord blesses us with comes from Him and is for Him and no one else. He will not glorify our misuse of His gifts, and definitely will not bless a heart focused on self.
I am glad to say that today I am more focused on just seeing the Lord work than obsessing over the tools that He is choosing to use to get His work done.
At the end of the day all that is important is the Spirit that is working and not how it choses to manifest Himself.
APPLICATION:
I will not assess my worth by comparing my areas of giftings to others, but trust that the only thing that matters is that The Spirit is working. I will not let the fact that someone else might have something more “spiritual” to say stop me from sharing what it is that God has placed in my heart.
