God has taught me many things this year
on the race, but one thing that has stood out the most in many
situations is the gifts God has given each of us. One of the first
blogs I wrote following training camp was about spiritual gifts and
why God gives some certain gifts but not others. This has been a
continual question throughout the year as I’ve seen other squadmates
with different gifts that I don’t have. I constantly struggle with
comparison and jealousy. I get caught up comparing myself to others
and losing sight of all God has given me.
So, this is what I’ve learned this year
that has been affirmed in many situations and ways. First of all God
gives all of us different gifts. We don’t all have the same gifts and
if we don’t have a certain gift like prophecy or speaking in tongues,
that’s okay. It doesn’t mean we are any less spiritual or gifted from
God. I don’t speak in tongues. I’m not a prophet. I don’t have
astounding wisdom. But God has still gifted me with gifts in
administration, service and encouragement. He’s also given me a
supernatural joy in life.
It says in 1 Corinthians 12 that God
created one body but many parts. We are all gifted in different ways.
If we were all the same, we would not be an effective body. I’ve seen
that this year in my teammates and squadmates. We all are growing in
the different gifts God has given us. Through that we are able to
encourage and challenge each other. It’s a beautiful thing when God’s
body works in this way.
When I was having a particularly
difficult time of feeling inadequate when compared to others, my team
leader Rachael encouraged me with this verse:
“But in fact God has arranged the
parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.�
1 Corinthians 12:18
God made me exactly how He wanted me to
be! Sure I’m not the most doctrinally intelligent or spiritually minded, but I can encourage others with my smile and
joy or serve them with kindess that only comes from God.
The most amazing thing God showed me
this year regarding gifts was that it all comes down to LOVE.
Immediately after Paul writes about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians
12, he writes about LOVE in chapter 13. He says you can have these
amazing gifts of speaking in tongues or prophesying, but if you don’t
use them in LOVE, they are useless.
I was pondering these things as I went
on a six-hour silent prayer hike led by our contact Brett in Hungary.
We went up and down a mountain then back around. It was beautiful in
the national forest, especially with the fall leaves on the trees.
Brett had has meditate on different things during the hike. The first
part was recognizing our sin and confessing it to God. Then we asked
for the fruits of the Spirit and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
As I was thinking about gifts from the Spirit, the only phrase that
kept going over in my head was “It’s all about love.â€� It’s so
true. I’m beginning to realize that when I struggle with comparision,
I need to focus on loving God and putting nothing else before him,
not even a spiritual gift.
Desire God, not His gifts.
I feel like I made a full circle. My
struggles with spiritual gifts began at training camp more than a year ago when
we went on a hike alone carying a log with things we wanted to
surrender to God. God then affirmed these truths while going on a
hike in Hungary. It’s amazing how long it takes us to learn some
lessons. I know I’ll still struggle with this one, but I pray God
will cotinue to have patience with me and help me love and serve Him
in the ways He’s gifted me.
