10 daily habits that will help you connect with God: Know your gifts and make yourself available

Howdy! Wow! How humbling it is to be a child of God! I deserve nothing but I have received eternal life and the same God who sacrificed His only precious Son to save me wants to use me to share that truth with you. Wow, what a heart check. God owes me nothing and He so freely gives me everything. I owe Him everything, so how much more should I give Him everything and make myself available to Him?

But Jess, what am I supposed to give Him? The answer: Spiritual gifts--let's talk about them.

What are spiritual gifts and why are they significant?

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that spiritual gifts are special abilities given to us by the Holy Spirit (12:1) to help our brothers and sisters in sharing the message of Christ to the world (12:7). Paul also makes very clear in this chapter that each Christian's spiritual gift serves a unique and specific purpose in the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:18-26 says, "But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad," (New Living Translation).

I know, that was a lot of scripture all at once. Let's break it down: God placed each of us, believers, in the exact position and gives us the spiritual gift He wants us to possess so that the (big C) Church functions effectively. Paul says earlier in the chapter that "the human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit," (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 New Living Translation).

Though we all have different gifts, we are still one body, united with one another because of the Holy Spirit in us, so if one part of the body is not making themselves available for God to use their spiritual gifts in furthering His Kingdom, the mission is hindered.

Now that we have an understanding of spiritual gifts, let's get into our habit:

Daily habit #9: Know your gifts and make yourself available

Daily Surrender

Out of all the habits we've discussed so far, this one is probably the most important when it comes to daily routine. Why? Because the purpose of connecting with God and spending time with Him daily is, first, so that we come to look more like Him (sanctification), so that we can, second, accurately share the love of Christ so that other's would come to know Him. The kicker is, though, that He only uses what He is offered. So, in order for us to carry out the Great Commission everyday, we have to make ourselves available everyday for God to use our spiritual gifts however He chooses to bring salvation. We have to live daily surrender.

Know your gifts--Testimony Time!

How are you suppose to surrender if you don't know what to surrender? This is something I've struggled with for the majority of my Christian life. Since truly giving my life to Christ at 17, the Lord so graciously taught me the importance of surrendering to Him and allowing Him to guide my every step, but I had absolutely no concept of spiritual gifts or what my strengths vs. weaknesses were when it came to serving in the church. And the worst part is, I've never been eager to find out, I always just let my friends tell me what my spiritual gifts were without applying myself to learn about them. And by doing this, I was unknowingly limiting the power of the Holy Spirit through me when it came to sharing the gospel.

In fact, it wasn't until this semester at A&M that God started to burden my heart with the intimacy of my relationship with Him and how to translate that to others best. So, in His omniscence (His all-knowing nature... my favorite thing about God!), the Lord literally dropped a spiritual gift test in my lap (well, in my dm's), before my BSM bible study last night because (surprise! Here goes God again), we were studying 1 Corinthians 12.

Now that I know what my gifts are #ExhortationGang #FaithGang, I can accurately play the role in restoration that He has called me to play.

Moral of this story: the Lord wants to use you, but in order for Him to use you to the full potential that He wants to use you, you have to make yourself available to Him. And the first step to surrendering your gifts to Him is to know your gifts.

Call to Action

I hope you've figured out by now, friends, that the truth speaks for itself and that you don't need me to take 3 years to prove scripture true, it is true because it is the true Word of God; straight-forward, just like our past few blog posts.

So, friends, I want to encourage you (hehe, exhortation what's up!) make yourself available to God. It is the most thrilling, spontaneous, yet peaceful and secure adventure you will ever take in your life. Nothing is more rewarding than living free in Christ and surrendering to His specific purpose for your life.

To be His child is a privilege and to be used by Him in restoring the world is the biggest act of grace--He owes us nothing, we owe Him everything. What other response do we have but to freely give to the One of freely gave to us?

So, know your gifts and make yourself available.

XOXO,

Jess :)