There is a spiritual gift from heaven reserved just for you. It will be given to you when you are ready for it. To be ready for it is not something you do by your own power but only that you have given over your life for His power to work in you.
The gifts of God are not meant for you but to flow through you so that you would be a blessing to others. “So it is with you, since you are so very eager to have spiritual gifts and manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in ways that will build up the church [spiritually].” (1 Corinthians 14:12 AMP).
In order to increase in the spiritual, you must decrease in the natural. The Lord can help you to do this the moment you will let Him. It is not that the Lord will conquer your natural, but you must willingly surrender yourself to Him. He only accepts volunteers in His army.
The only way to ascend spiritually is to kneel down in the natural. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30 NKJV).
The natural which must be torn down in your life is not just the sinful nature that was born in you but also the natural abilities upon which you rely. It is not that the Lord won’t sometimes use your natural abilities, but He never wants you to rely upon them.
Whenever we’re not strong in a spiritual gift, it’s because we’re not weak before God. “As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life” (Galatians 5:16 TPT).
The spiritual gift for you cannot be earned but only received. It is not a gift for you, but to be through you that God would use you as the conduit of His grace towards those around you. To the degree you seek the gift to be seen, you are in error and won’t receive anything.
It doesn’t matter how big your calling is, but only that you do it. “As each one has received some spiritual gift, he should use it to serve others, like good managers of God’s many-sided grace” (1 Peter 4:10 CJB).
The spiritual gift for you is rarely anything close to any natural abilities that you may walk in. The Lord will give you a gift, but only when you recognize it is all His and to only use it for His purposes. The gift is for His glory to be lifted up coming through you who must be bowed down.
We aren’t supposed to chase spiritual gifts but to walk in them. “So it is with you, since you are so very eager to have spiritual gifts and manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in ways that will build up the church [spiritually]” (1 Corinthians 14:12 AMP).
The spiritual gifts are not listed in order of importance but are all of equal importance to the Lord who gives them. Never seek a specific gift, but only wait for the Lord to give you one. We don’t know how the Lord might use us, so we don’t know what the gift is that we will need.
You can’t serve the Lord so long as you have your own agenda. Jesus taught, “If anyone serves Me, he must [continue to faithfully] follow Me [without hesitation, holding steadfastly to Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]; and wherever I am [in heaven’s glory], there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26 AMP).
Until you receive a gift in which you can serve Him, simply serve Him as you are. We have no idea of how the lord is arranging circumstances and leading us by His Holy Spirit, so stop waiting for the spectacular and start serving in every little thing that you do.
Your ministry is to every person who crosses your path. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT).
Until you are satisfied with nothing, He will rarely give you something, so you must wait without thinking He has left you without all that you need. The waiting is always the lesson, and the patience we show reflects the faith He has grown in us as we wait for His timing.
You won’t be something for God until you’re willing to be nothing for Him. “In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too” (Philippians 2:3-4 ERV).
Some have the right intention and the relationship to receive the gift but have yet to have received one. The delay in the gift is not meant to be a sign you are in error but only that He is waiting for the right time at which you will need it. He can do more in a day than you can in a lifetime, so just wait for Him.
Some people spend a lifetime striving to become what God can do for them in a day. “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Samuel 10:6 NKJV).
When you receive your spiritual gift, be thankful for all that He has given you. Whatever you do, don’t promote yourself with the gift you have been given, but simply operate in your gift with all humility and meekness in what He has you doing.
If you have to tell people what your spiritual gift is, then consider it isn’t your gift. “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius