Accepting Your Gift

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God, through the Holy Spirit wants to gift each and every one of us.  Are we willing to accept the gift?

Scripture

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:7 NASB)
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
(1 Corinthians 12:11 NASB)

Observation

Paul was telling the Christians in Corinth that the Holy Spirit was working in each and every person's life in a special and unique way. The result was that the community of faith had people with different gifts and abilities which brought balance to the church. Not everyone had the same gifting, but rather the culmination of their gifting created a whole. The focus was not on the gifts themselves, but on the Spirit who brought those gifts. The early church was a vibrant place where the Holy Spirit was moving through the individual members. Sadly, about a century later the growth of the church began to decline dramatically and there was little or no talk of the movement of the Spirit among the members. Throughout history there have been moments of time where the Church has been called back to remembering that it was when each member utilized the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit that the world is eternally impacted.

Application

I am afraid that we find ourselves in one of those eras where we are not tapping into the Holy Spirit, and therefore we are not using our spiritual gifting. God has a spiritual gift for each and every one of us, but yet, are we willing to receive that gift, not for ourselves, but for God's glory, work and movement here on this earth? God wants us to tap into the power of His Holy Spirit in everything that we do. He doesn't expect us to go about things on our own. Remember when Jesus said that He needed to leave and go to heaven so that He could send the "Comforter" or "Advocate" for us? That is God's desire for each and every one of us.
If God gives us a gift, He does expect us to use it. Are we so afraid of what God may ask us to do with the gift that He provides that we would rather simply not receive it? It's time for us to jump into the deep end of the pool -- allow the Holy Spirit to fill every nook and cranny of our lives. Accept the good gifts of the Father and then use them in His kingdom work.

Prayer

Lord, please remove all barriers of fear which may hinder us from living in the fullness of Your Spirit. Amen.

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