Accepting the Gift

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

7” But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by [a]the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

To have the Holy Spirit living and working inside of you is a powerful yet humbling feeling. Having been a wretched sinner, I cannot believe that the Almighty God sees me as worthy to manifest His spirit in or through me. This feeling can lead me to fear being used by the Spirit to operate in His will fully. What if it doesn’t work? What if I misunderstand what I’ve felt, seen, or heard? What if someone questions me about this or that and I don’t have all the answers? Why me? Why not me? Why them? So many questions. So much fear and anxiety. But God hasn’t given us the Spirit of Fear, He has given us the Holy Spirit to work His good will for the common good of all.

This is why I said before, that we need to seek the Giver of the gifts and not the gift itself. If we do then we can trust that we walk in HIS WILL and not our own. When we seek to be The Prophet or The Healer or “The” whatever, that’s when we are exalting ourselves and not the Father who sends us.

I grew up in the days of the “healing crusades” of Benny Hinn and Ernest Angsley. I remember watching the Jim Jones story. People can become obsessed with miracles. The begin to focus on the human that God is working through instead of God. They stop reading and study, praying and seeking because they focus on what The Prophet is saying. I see this today as well. We are so hungry for an experience with God but too lazy to seek it out and do the cleaning up that needs to be done in the home – the person – for the Holy Spirit to feel welcome and comfortable to work in us. It’s easier to listen to or watch someone else.

When it comes to the gift, we must have an intimate relationship with the Giver so that He knows what we need and what we will use, not just what we want. Christmas time is a great example for this object lesson. Mom and Dad are with us every day and they listen to what we say and know what we favor. So their gifts usually fulfill our wish list and tick most of the boxes of what we like. My daddy always put Hershey Kisses aka “Silver Bells” in my stocking. He knew those were my favorite. I remember one year my mom filled my stocking with make-up, and pens, color pencils and markers. She knew that I loved make-up and art. Friends know the trendy little things you like. Grandparents usually stick to the things we need – socks & underwear. But hey, we NEED those! If someone doesn’t really know you, they tend to shy away from giving you a gift so that they aren’t outright rejected.

Now who would really reject a gift from God? Am I crazy for saying such a thing? No, how many people would prefer to have a gift for administration over the gift of healing? How about the gift of hospitality or discernment over prophecy? God knows what you will use and be responsible with and what you won’t. He will only allow the Spirit to manifest in us what we will allow to work the good and perfect will of the Father. So seek Him and not the gift. Who knows, you may be the next great prophet, preacher, teacher, healer OR you may be the prayer warrior that stands in the gap for that pastor.