Lent Reflection, Day 26, March 30

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 1:4-8

Before you ever believed in him God was already pointing you in certain directions by giving you natural gifts. Whether you are smart, athletic, musical, mechanical, technical, encouraging, or helpful and hard working, God designed you to fulfill his purposes. Certain things just come naturally to each of us, and I believe God did this so we could narrow our focus in life. He made us limited so we would search for and find our gifts, while valuing and depending others’ gifts. He made us to thrive in our gifts and in doing so, learning to trust in an unlimited God.

Whatever your gifts are, dedicate those gifts to God – that’s one way to love him with all that is in you. Dedicating your gifts to God often means dedicating your gifts to serve others.

If you feel like a loser, or you feel like you don’t have any gifts, dig in and find them, because we all have them. If you have gifts that you don’t like, I encourage you to accept them and embrace them because until you do you will always lack confidence. I’m starting to understand that more and more my significance has little to do with things that the world deems to be important. In fact, the Scripture says that things of significance in God’s eyes typically don’t attract much attention from the masses. On the other hand, they quite often mean a great deal to those we come in contact with from day to day.

When we reach our final moment in this life, those around us will want to remember not how much we achieved; but instead how much we cared. Jesus never became emperor of Rome, nor was he recognized as the high priest before he died and rose from the grave, but those he touched while he was here in the flesh were eternally changed. He continues to change us today, and gives each of us the opportunity to use our gifts and talents to change lives. No matter what those gifts may be.

Prayer: Help me to embrace the natural gifts you’ve given me and understand my unique purposes in you. Help me to build up others through using these gifts.