Gifts through weakness

"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as the ability which God giveth:  that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.  Amen."  (1 Peter 4:9-11)

The Apostle Peter was inspired to remind us once again that we operate under God's power when we commit ourselves to His love and accept Jesus as our Savior.  Clearly spoken in these few sentences that Peter gave us contains a number of truths that Christians may live by.  Those truths include the fact that God has given each one of us a gift that we are expected to use for the benefit of others; we are to practice good stewardship with God's Grace; when we speak we must speak of the things that God has given to us, and we are to do all things through the power of God's Spirit. 

There is a difference between a "talent" that we might have, such as playing a musical instrument, or singing, and a gift that God gives us.  Those talents are usually recognized early and we spend many hours developing those talents through practice and rehearsal.  When we perform for an audience we are on display to please those who are listening or watching.  When the performance is flawless it is usually because we have practiced and developed that talent into a skill.

I wonder if a gift is something that God places in us that we have not had the opportunity to hone within ourselves to the point that we soak up the praise from men and deflect it from God when we manifest that gift to others?  When I look at a gift a person has I always wonder if that particular thing is, or was, the weakest characteristic that person had.  The greatest orator may be the person, like Moses, who had trouble with speaking until he yielded himself to the power of God.  God demonstrates His strength through our weaknesses, not necessarily through our strengths.

We are sometimes fearful of using the gifts that God has given us because we know that the gift may cause us to tap into our greatest weakness.  But you see, this is where yielding, submission and faith begin to work in our lives.  God takes that weakness, makes it a gift and then sends His Spirit to create a work in us that in turn glorifies Him. 

What a rush to ride the crest on the wings of the Spirit as He does His work through us by charging up our weakness to be our greatest gift.

Jim Killebrew