ROOM FOR JESUS – DAY  4 of 8 - Gifts of the Spirit

Is there room for Jesus in your spiritual gifts and talents? We all have them. [See 1 Corinthians 12:4-11] Every gift of the spirit is of the same value to God. Hopefully, since they are given us for the purpose of service to others, we all use them or seek to use them to serve.

However, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves guilty of edging Jesus out of our use of those gifts. Let me give you a recent example from my life.

I was asked to give a scripture-based seminar to a mixed group of adults. It is a presentation I have done many times before. But I always practice a couple of times before any presentation to ensure that it comes out smoothly and I don’t miss any important points. Even with written out notes in front of me, without practice I might stumble over words or points.

My first run through was way more difficult than I expected. I wasn’t “feeling it”. Didn’t feel like I was connecting to the message or that it was flowing. I knew that I had the right message. I’d put in the time to craft it. It was not unfamiliar territory. Why was I feeling unconnected?

I stopped and prayed, asking for Jesus to help me, to speak through me and get this message, which I had been asked to give, out with feeling and connection. I asked Jesus to speak through me – to connect to His brothers and sisters in a meaningful way.

I stepped aside and made room for Jesus to speak through me. And He did. The next run through felt perfectly aligned. And the presentation went beautifully.

What was missing was that I had assumed, given all my work on it, that I could give the message myself. I had neglected to make room for Jesus.

God gives us talent and gifts that He intends for us to use. But even a God-given gift will not serve its purpose unless we purposefully, specifically and with intent make room for Jesus in its use.

I welcome your comments and questions along the way. You can write me in the comments/chat section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org