Is Your Gift A Blessing Or A Burden?

If I do not submit my gift to God, it can be a burden. A good thing if used in the wrong way can cause a lot of damage. Technology is a perfect example. I love that I can communicate with my 92-year-old grandmother who is thousands of miles away. However, that same technology can be catastrophic if I scroll and look at inappropriate things on the internet. My choice on how I use the gift of technology will determine if it is a gift or a burden.

The same is true with the gifts God has given to us. My gifts when submitted to God can prove to be a blessing, conversely, if I do not submit them to God they can prove to be a burden. I will use myself as an example. Looking back, I can see that I have always had the gift of encouragement and faith, though I didn’t always have the language to describe it. By God’s grace on my life, I am a “the glass is half full” kind of girl even when others see no water in the glass. Having faith was not an area of struggle for me because I can see and believe for the best even when circumstances say otherwise. These are great to have, HOWEVER, these same gifts created problems for me when I did not submit to God.

In my desire to help and encourage, I did not understand healthy boundaries. I would often allow people to take advantage of me because I couldn’t say no to their request for help. I became stuck in the “say yes to everything” prison even though I didn’t have the bandwidth to do it all. I saw the good and the possibility of fixing certain people and their problem, I wanted to help. However, I lacked discernment and often helped others based on my emotions instead of the leading of God. I was very gullible and believed in things that were sinking sand; I had faith for things that were not God’s will for my life.  It wasn’t wrong for me to be nice and want to encourage and see the best in others. However, it should be by the leading of God.

As I grow in the Lord, these gifts are still present but because I submit them to God, they are proving to be a blessing and not a burden. As opposed to trying to fix everyone’s problem in my strength, I am quick to encourage people through prayer. If you are feeling down, it blesses me when I pray and share the word of God to encourage you. I still see the glass as half full, but I now realize it’s God that does the filling and not me. I still have faith, but I place it in God and discernment is now present.

What is your gift? We all have AT LEAST one. If you don’t know, pray and ask the Lord to reveal it to you. Is that gift proving to be a blessing or a burden? Have you submitted that gift to God?

1 Peter 4:10 NLT

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.