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PROGRAM D-7258
Are you happy with who you are? I find that there are lots of people who never really accept who they are, and they live in pain and misery all the time because they feel like they’re stuck with themselves. Well, I want to tell you that who you are is not an accident or a mistake. God has made you and he does all things well.
However, accepting who you are should never lead you to settling for where you are in your spiritual growth. Accept but don’t settle. For example, have you accepted the way God has gifted you? The Bible clearly teaches us that each believer has been given definite and recognizable gifts or talents, which are resources to use in serving the Lord.
Once you recognize how God has gifted you, then accept that role you’ve been given with great joy. The things God has gifted you to do are the things that make you the happiest and bring the most satisfaction. For example, if you have the gift of encouragement, your greatest joy will be to encourage others—to write notes, help someone out, listen to a heartache—lots of things like that which an encourager does so well. It won’t be a chore, because it’s your gift; it will be a delight.
But here’s the other side of the coin: Never settle for mediocrity. Jesus told a parable about three people who were given talents to use. One had five talents, one two talents and one had only one. When the master returned and demanded an accounting as to how each one used his talents, he gave strong approval to the first two because they multiplied their talents. But to the man with only one, he gave a grave condemnation because he hid his talent and did not grow it.
What Jesus taught us there is that when we use the gifts and talents he has given us, he will give us more. I’ve been amazed to see this in my own life. I’m convinced that because I started using the little talent I had where I was many years ago, God has been faithful to his word to give me more and broaden my ministry. When you use your gifts, God gives you more.
So, accept the talents and gifts God has invested in you, and then set out to grow them as much as possible. You do that by using them any way you can. Jump in the water and get wet. You’ll discover that God is true to his word and he will increase your gifts when you use what you have. Accept your gifts, but never settle; use them and get more.