What Have You Done with Your Gift?

We are all called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). However, we are also called to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other that we may be healed (James 5:16). 

When leaders fall or fellow believers lose their faith, we comment, we question, we whisper, and maybe we get as far as praying.

But here is the question, did we ever create room for that person to be honest about their struggles and failures - before the seeds they privately  struggled with became fruit. 

Were there moments of compromise we noticed, spiritual oppression we discerned, quiet cries for help we heard, changes we observed?

Did we dismiss what we saw or heard because there were other things pressing for our time? Or did we take time to pray for that person or even invite them into honest conversation and relationship?

There are so many people in communities but still carrying heavy burdens alone and silently. They are living in darkness but desperately want light. 

When God gives us gifts, He has equipped us to build up His body to bring Heaven to earth and to prepare His bride for His coming. While we aren’t responsible for another person’s salvation, we are responsible for how we steward the talents and gifts God has given us.

When God givs us the ability to see and discern another person's challenge and we opt to ignore it,  we have essentially buried what we have been given, like the man with one talent (Matthew 25:14-30). 

What makes us decide that we are too busy to pause and address what God has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind to discern? 

Before Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, He knew her story and He saw her pain. He also saw through her attempts to evade intimate communication that would uncover her hurt. She didn’t realize that this conversation would heal her heart but Jesus knew. Thus, He persisted. He invaded the walls she built around herself and invited her into love. 

When we dive deeper into that story, this Samaritan woman didn’t just sin, she was living in sin but Jesus created room for her to be honest about it (John 4:18). It’s in that conversation her eyes were opened to who Jesus was and she openly declared to everyone she could about Him (John 4:1-26, 39). 

At first they believed because of what she told them but later they believed because they experienced Him for themselves (John 4:39-42). 

Where would the Samaritan woman be? Where would Samaria be, if Jesus ignored the woman at the well or allowed their conversation to remain in shallow waters?

Jesus saw that there was pain but He didn’t let that intimidate Him. He didn’t create distance. Instead, He drew closer and created more opportunities for honesty. 

Can we say that we do the same for those around us? Can Jesus trust us to open the eyes of those around us to who He is in the midst of their struggles? Can He trust us to reach the one who has left the ninety-nine and bring them back into the sheepfold?

Imagine how many people we could impact if we pause at the proverbial well for the one. We may see only one person, but Jesus knows how one life changed can impact multitudes.

We only need to steward what He has given us well and be mission-minded for the Kingdom everyday. 

We won’t always be able to sit and have intimate conversations with everyone that is struggling or walking in darkness but let it not be said of us that we saw and did nothing. 

1. We can pray for people when we discern the battles they are facing 

   
   

   - When we have limited to no access to a person or may not be relationally close to that person, to ask hard questions, prayer is a powerful intervention

2. We can create room for honest, unhurried conversation that creates safety to share the hard and the ugly 

   
   

   - People are not inclined to share meaningful information in hurried interactions especially if they fear burdening or inconveniencing the listener

3. We can become people who are trustworthy so people feel safe to share their burdens with us 

   
   

   - If we gossip about others or share what others have told us in confidence, we lose our credibility and that person continues to bury their burdens

4. We can seek the Holy Spirit about how we can support that person

   
   

   - If He has given us “eyes to see” their burden, it is likely that He has equipped us with a way to support them. 

  Join me in using all that God has given for the building up of His body.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important” (Galatians 6:2-3, NLT).

Father, thank you for the life You have given us. Forgive us for letting busyness, schedules, and preferences get in the way of what you have sent us here to do. Forgive us for the times when we could have helped but our own agendas got in the way. Help us Father to live unhurried lives that are attuned to your voice and yielded to Your leading. We are here for Your glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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