08/18/2026
Spiritual gifts, they are so misunderstood. Are you one of those who believes that you have no spiritual gifts? Do you watch as others exercise the gifts they have been given, and become despondent because you think that you have been passed over? Well, I pose this question to you... what have you prayed for? Have you asked God to show you His will for you, and then after receiving that answer, asked for the ability to accomplish it? As part of giving you the ability to do His will you will receive spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit to help you along the way.
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"”
Luke 11:13 ESV
The Holy Spirit, this is the second major gift we have been given by the Lord, the first being our faith, Jesus, and Living Water. But both our belief and the Holy Spirit are foundational and teach us that to receive we must ask. Have you asked, and what are you asking for? So often we ask for a spiritual gift when actually we should be asking for help in doing God’s will. When we ask for God’s will and He sends us out into His harvest field, then He will gift us with such things as the living water to give the thirsty we will find there, and God will give us all we need to find, draw, and serve that water too.
“Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."”
John 4:10 ESV
We continue reading scripture and immediately begin to ask for things... children ask for a puppy, the lonely ask for a friend, the homeless ask for a place to live... and the list is endless. Sure, God will give us various things we ask for through prayer. He will heal us, feed us, give us shelter, and many other things, but none of those personal things holds a candle to the gifts he gives us when it comes to accomplishing His calling and His will for us. Nothing is more incredible than the spiritual gifts we receive in response to a prayer for His will to be revealed and His help in accomplishing it. Listen to Jesus as He speaks in this verse...
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:13-14 ESV
What has God asked you to do for Him that you need His help in accomplishing? Have you asked Him in prayer for this thing that will advance His will? Using some skill that you have had all your life is just the use of a talent, but asking God for the ability to use that talent in His service, and in a way you could not have imagined before, transforms it into a spiritual gift. Asking God for the ability to do something beyond ourselves in order to accomplish His will brings us gifts; sometimes they manifest themselves as extensions of basic skills we already have, while at other times they are totally new and amazing abilities. What has God tasked you to do, and have you prayed for the ability and gifts that would aid you in doing it?
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:”
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
Once we have learned to ask, we need to learn what to ask for... always ask for something that is in accordance to God’s will for us... never judge God’s desire for us based on our own wants, or Judge the gifts He gives us based on our view of them. Sometimes we are handed a gift and then refuse to see it because it doesn’t appear grand enough for us. Perhaps we are a prosperous and mighty man or woman who God is asking to don the cloak of a servant in the home of an elderly person in need. Is servitude not a gift? What measure of humility would a wealthy person need to be given before they could overcome their pride? Humility thus becomes a spiritual gift of God... and what gift is the old person receiving when they must face their inability to fend for themselves? These gifts might seem contrary to what we expect, and lowly to people who are struggling with their prides, but they are the very things that God alone can give them that will save their souls in the process.
When we look at all the souls that Billy Graham led to the Lord, or the ark that Noah built, or the strength of Goliath, well, none of these was any more amazing than the humble person who quietly went about mowing the lawn of a single sick and dying man, or the impact on an elderly woman’s salvation while accepting a handout of obedience and service from a stranger. What we are gifted to do is to accomplish God’s will, to glorify Him, and no one can do that and still say “Look at me!” Not the rich man dressed in dirty jeans, and not the old woman who has allowed herself to be served after a lifetime of self-sufficiency.
So, what is your spiritual gift? It is what God gives you when you pray for help in doing His will in your life. What is the value of the gifts He gives you? Well, all gifts have the same value... and that is the value of the salvation of the person’s soul who receives it and all the other souls, those who filled the stadium to hear Billy Graham, or the one old man who watched from his window as his lawn was being mowed, both the giver and the receiver having a spiritual story unfolding, and their own spiritual gifts being expressed. As for Graham or the old man, their gifts became their own redemption.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the revelation of your will in my life, and thank you for showing me the value of the spiritual gifts you have given me to accomplish them as they go about saving my soul for an eternity with you. Thank you Lord for leading me to understand that as much as I might think my gifts are impacting others, they are also saving me too, and they are not of my doing, but always of you. Thank you for demonstrating your amazing plan to me as I step back and see the beautiful tapestry of my salvation that you have woven by pulling a single thread at a time... giving a single gift, teaching a single lesson, and bestowing a single blessing. Thank you Holy Father for stripping away my shortsighted view of your gifts, and showing me that your gifts aren’t always meant to save the world, but often given to save one solitary soul. All the others who I obediently served have their own threads, lessons, and blessings, and if I am used by you to help them then perhaps the color of my gift will be made evident in their tapestry. Holy, Holy, Holy are you the God of gifts, and the architect of our salvation. Great are you who speaks into my life, and the one I obey in the use of the many gifts you have provided through the years. Praised be your name Father; now and for evermore.
Amen!
Rich Forbes