Use Your Gift

God never gives a person a task without also providing him with what is necessary to perform the responsibility.

W.W.Dawley, referring to this truth, says, "God gave Moses a rod, David a sling, Samson the jawbone of a donkey, Shamgar an oxgoad, Esther the beauty of person, Deborah the talent for poetry, Dorcas a needle, and Apollos an eloquent tongue - and to each the ability to use that gift. In so doing, every one of them did most effective works for the Lord."

Our heavenly Father has given at least one spiritual gift to each of us as believers, and He provides all we need to carry out our individual responsibilities (1 Cor. 12:6-7). We are all essential in the body of Christ (vv.14-27). Acknowledging these truths is not only a source of comfort and encouragement, but it is also a sobering reality, for it places before us an important obligation. God's gifts to us must not be squandered! They must be fully used, because some day "each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom.14:12).

What has the Lord given you? Are you using your spiritual gift for His glory and the blessing of others? Don't waste your gift! Use it! - Richard W. De Haan, "Our Daily Bread", July-December 1997