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Today's Scripture: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…" (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV). Today's Word: Today, if you’re not seeing in your life what God promised in your spirit, then you aren’t finished yet! What you see is only temporary. It’s time to keep moving forward. Don’t put your stakes down; don’t settle here. If where you’re living doesn’t match what God put in your spirit, be grateful, keep a good attitude, but keep stretching to a new level. If the medical report doesn’t agree with what God says about you, don’t accept it as the way it’s always going to be. Your attitude should be, “This is just a season that I’m passing through. I’m coming into health, wholeness and victory.” Maybe it’s even something good. God has blessed you: a family, a job, health. You’ve seen His favor, but you know there are greater levels in front of you. It’s easy to think, “I’m happy. I have no complaints. God has been good to me.” But, I’ve learned that good is the enemy of great. You may be doing good. You’re using your gifts, but deep down you know you have more in you. Don’t let good be an excuse to keep you from God’s best. Stir up your greatness and stretch into a new level! Prayer for Today: Father, thank You for taking me from glory to glory. I trust that You are leading me on a journey of faith. I trust that You are bringing to pass every dream and every desire You’ve placed in my heart in Jesus’ name! Amen! |
Have You Ever Suffered From “Gift-envy”? By Rick Warren — May 23, 2014
“Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:14a TEV)
You can’t earn your spiritual gifts or deserve them — that’s why they are called gifts! They’re an expression of God’s grace to you: “Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us” (Ephesians 4:7 CEV).
Nor do you get to choose which gifts you’d like to have. Paul explains that God determines that “it is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT).
Because God loves variety, and he wants us to be special, there’s no one single gift given to everyone, and no individual receives all the gifts. If you had them all, you’d have no need of anyone else, and that would defeat one of God’s purposes — to teach us to depend on each other.
Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for your benefit. The Bible says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT). When we use our gifts together, we all benefit. If others don’t use their gifts, you get cheated, but if you don’t use your gifts, they get cheated. This is why God wants us to discover and develop our spiritual gifts.
Whenever we forget these basic truths about gifts, it always causes trouble in the church. Two common problems are "gift-envy" and "gift-projection."
- The first occurs when we compare our gifts to others, feel dissatisfied with what God gave us, and become resentful or jealous of how God uses others.
- The second problem happens when you expect everyone else to have your gifts, do what you’re called to do, and feel as passionate about it as you do. The Bible says, “There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:5 NLT).
Talk It Over
- Why do you think God wants us to learn to depend on each other?
- What needs to change about the way you do ministry when you consider that your spiritual gifts are for the benefit of others and not yourself?
- Think of a time when you became discouraged because others were not as passionate about their ministry as you. How do you think God wants you to change your attitude?
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