I've used the accompanying meme before, but not with the following words. This is all "brand new." You can probably read it in less than five minutes, and you'll probably be glad that you did.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecc. 9:10)
We all have various responsibilities in life, such as staying right with God, staying healthy, keeping ourselves informed, working, paying bills, getting along with our fellow man, etc., but God made us all to specialize in something as well. This is where spiritual gifts come into play, a subject that Paul addressed in I Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and Peter mentions it in I Peter 4. But, I fear that most Christians never find their gift and use it fully for the glory of God. Instead, they content themselves with plugging into someone's fundamentalist "program" and spending their days living like religious robots. I came very close to making this mistake about forty years ago, and, quite honestly, if not for some unfortunate backsliding, I might have never found my gift and put it to work for God. As they say, God sure works in mysterious ways.
Maybe I have other gifts that I will discover at some point, but I'll be very surprised if anything ever equals my desire and love for writing, printing, teaching and preaching. I hate traveling, I can't draw or paint, I can't sing, I'm not a salesman, I don't interact well with strangers, and I wouldn't last a month in full-time evangelism or as a missionary on deputation. I can write, publish, preach and teach, and that's about it, and I thank God that, so far (!), I've never made a fool of myself by trying to be someone or something that I'm not. By the good grace of God, I found what I'm supposed to be doing about thirty years ago, and I'm still doing it. If the Lord will let me, I'll be doing it till He calls me home.
But, sadly, a great many believers are NOT doing what they're supposed to be doing. They've been so busy running around like mixed-up Martha that they've never actually put their hand to THEIR OWN plough and plowed THEIR OWN row in accordance with their own gifted abilities. In fact, many of them gave up on themselves long ago. Maybe there's no need for this post, but I do meet people all the time who seem unhappy and unfulfilled with their lives, and I suspect that it's often because they just missed their calling, or, as Solomon suggested in Ecceleiastes 9:10, their hand has never "found to do" what it's supposed to be doing, so there's no "might" or passion in their labors.
And I'm not necessarily referring to employment. All decent people have to work, and their work might not be the most enjoyable, but it's part of having an honorable life, so we work and pay our bills and make our contributions to society. But are we also making time to do what we were MEANT to do, and are we doing it with our MIGHT? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to use our gifts in some capacity to fulfill our callings and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:13-14)?
If you'll please pardon the personal references, I'd like to pass on to you three things that I have learned by experience about finding and using spiritual gifts. I don't know for sure, and I don't have anyone in particular in mind, but I sense that maybe someone needs this information, either now or later, so here goes . . .
(1) A SPIRITUAL GIFT MEETS A NEED. God never wastes anything, so He never gives someone a useless gift. I Corinthians 12:7 says, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." God is interested in Exalting the Saviour, Evangelizing the Sinners, and Edifying the Saints, and your gift can be greatly used in these areas for producing a PROFIT for the Lord.
(2) YOU'LL LOVE USING YOUR GIFT. When your hand finds to do what God has gifted you to do, you will love doing it. You will actually reach a point to when it "clicks" in your mind and you think to yourself, "THIS is my thing! THIS flows from me as naturally as breathing! THIS is what I was meant to do!" II Corinthians 3:17 says, ". . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." When using your gift for God, you will experience an inner sense of natural liberty and joy that compares to nothing else you do. You might not do it "full time," but you will look forward to doing it often. It will be enjoyable, not cumbersome, and few others will understand this as you press onward doing what you KNOW that God wants you to do.
There are things about myself that I hate, such as my looks, my voice, my hearing loss, and my introverted personality isn't always the greatest asset either, but I LOVE my writing. It doesn't matter how many critics the devil raises up, because I KNOW that God wants me to write, and I know that He blesses it, and that's really all that matters. You'll know that as well when Ecclesiastes 9:10 is activated in your own life. Fanny Crosby loved hymn writing, Livingstone loved exploration, Roloff loved helping troubled young people, and you will love exercising your own spiritual gift.
(3) OTHERS WILL COMPLIMENT AND PROMOTE YOU. It's a strange thing, but while most others will not understand your PASSION (since it's YOURS, not theirs), they will acknowledge that you are good at what you're doing and that God is using it. They just won't understand and appreciate the energy and devotion that you give to it. When you are doing God's will with your gift, the Holy Spirit will bear witness to it and lead others to encourage you. You won't have to run around asking people what they think; they'll come to you with praise, and they'll speak well of you to others. Sure, you will have critics as well, but God will see to it that you have more than enough friends who compliment you and keep you going. Learn to graciously accept this and be encouraged by it. Proverbs 27:2 says, "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." It WILL happen when you're doing what God wants you to do and you're doing it naturally with your own special gift(s). Stay humble, stay holy, and stay focused, and there's no limit to what God can do with you.
It doesn't matter WHAT you can do; God can use it, because there's a need for it somewhere. Maybe you're a gifted mechanic or a carpenter. God needs mechanics and carpenters in all kinds of ways. Maybe your gift and passion is plants and gardening. Ask God how you can use your gift for His glory. Maybe you're a gifted cook, or maybe you love arts and crafts. God can use that! Just ask Him HOW he wants to use it, and follow His lead. Stay faithful in the worship and work of the church, but also look for ways to use your personal gift for the glory of God.
Like most preachers, I have lots of books, including books with illustrations and quotes. One book that I have is "12,000 Religious Quotations" edited and compiled by Frank S. Mead. Many years ago I read the book through and marked all the best quotes. I think my favorite quote in the whole book is a simple little epitaph found on page 172:
"Here lies the body of John Smith, who for forty years cobbled shoes in this village to the glory of God."
Friend, what is YOUR gift, and what are you doing with it?
James L Melton
biblebaptistpublications.org
