Fire In My Bones

Distractions - Post by Liz Ketcher Catlin
As I mentioned in my last post, I am doing a study on spiritual gifts; identifying which ones I have been given and understanding my responsibilty in using those gifts. (Romans 12 and 1 Cor. 12 will give you a list of all of them) A great definition of Spiritual Gifts is found in my study- "special abilitites used for spiritual purposes given by the Holy Spirit in EVERY believer in the Body of Christ (church) according to God's design and grace (He Himself chose which gifts to give to you) for use within the context of the Body (church)"

Some gifts are things we as individuals instinctively do, for instance...I instinctly gravitate towards people that I feel I can assist, whether it's by making a meal for a family in their time of bereavement, driving a sick person to a doctors appointment, or even taking the time to listen if someone (friend or stranger) just needs to talk. That is part of the gift of "helps". My biggest spiritual gifting though is the gift of Faith; I don't know exactly why God chose that particular gift for me, I guess it has alot to do with my abandonment issues developed as a child and that have escalated through my adult life. Whatever the reason for His grace and mercy of that gifting, I do seem to have a remarkable ability to trust God and it can only be explained as coming from the Holy Spirit. I truly believe ALL of the Bible (like the bumper sticker-"if God said it, I believe it, and that settles it") and I believe 100% that while I may not like all of His methods of getting me from point A to point B, "All things REALLY DO work together for the good of those who love Him and keep His commandments".

If you are a believer in Christ and have ever come to me for advice, (God help us both!! :) then you know what I am talking about; I've most likely been tough on you. While I counseled you in empathy,I also reminded you of God's word, His faithfulness to fulfill His word (despite our best efforts to thwart it) and hopefully encouraged you to trust His word. If you are an unbeliever and came to me for the same, hopefully I was even more grace and mercy driven, but encouraged you and loved on you while offering you sound advice (I'm sure I threw alot of God stuff in there too :)but all of that is me walking in the gift of faith, because I truly, Truly believe what I am saying to you about God's goodness, unconditional love, and His never ending mercies for us. Like I said, those are things I innately do (I'm sure I offer up alot of unsolicited advice as well but...) Sometimes we are given the ability to do something for a specific time or appointment; I could go into this further but feel I would be remiss if I didn't allow you the opportunity to delve into the word and study for yourself the awesomeness of God's grace and creativity in us!

All of this to say... are you using your spiritual gifts? Are you stirring them to keep them red hot or have you let the fire in YOUR bones wane? It's so easy to get caught up in distractions of life and just forget about all that God has created us to be and do! Like at the end of our life it's going to be more important how much money we made, how much Stuff we accumulated, rather than whether we actually fulfilled God's pupose for our lives here on Earth. Seriously! I mean "He who dies with the most toys is STILL DEAD"!! I often say my only fear of death is that when I get to heaven God is going to say "you totally missed what I had for you to do". I want to use what He gave me to the best of my ability and I have fallen short of that because of distractions. Unfortunatley some of those distractions were in well doing: serving in areas of the church just to fill a need instead of plugging in where I AM needed. I once had a friend who, when she and her family came to our church was asked to work the nursery (I think that's a prerequesite for most church attendance, right? :) She told them straight up " no thank you, that's not my gift, but I will lead a women's ministry class". If you've been in church at any time at all you can imagine how that went over, lol. Immediately she was thought to be arrogant and selfish, but quickly we all began to see this woman had a natural compassion and love for the women in our church, coupled with the gifts of wisdom and teaching; she was appointed our Women's Director not long after and served several years, making huge impressions on the lives of the wommen, before she and her family moved away. It was her example that finally convinced me that I might do several things acceptably, but there are some things I do very well, and those are the things I need to concentrate on.

I had a friend tell me once that I was like a magnet; I walk in to a room and instantly pick up all the things that need to be done. (Helps gift) Not a bad thing I guess, but a person can get overwhelmed and overworked doing things that really are the job of others while neglecting the things they should be doing themsleves. Maybe that's why so many marriages fail, children rebel, churches split...we are all trying to do a job meant for anothers giftings and not focusing on our own. When we are walking in our own we are fulfilled and fruitful,it comes easy to us; the other way just brings us frustration and resentment. 1 Cor 12:20 "we all make up one body and if a certain part of the body isn't performing his/her function then the body operates less than..." 2 Tim 1:6 " stir up your giftings, and be bold; do not let them remain dormant".

Consider today what your spiritual gifts are; search out the scriptures I listed, while praying, and ask God for insight on how to use those gifts to the best of your ability for the furtherance of His kingdom.Let us all focus on the kingdom of God instead the kingdom of self.
I'm out.