Hope Beyond Brokenness ©2014 Hayley Anderson 2 Timothy 1:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV) 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. What would you say if I told you that you have a God-given gift inside you? Well there is, whether you know what it is or not, there lies inside you a God-given gift that is there to be utilized for the benefit of others. How do you find out what your giftings may be ? Ask God to show you, He knows what He has placed within you and He knows the best way to show you. Its not always the least obvious thing, in fact, usually it is the most obvious. For instance, when I was a kid I would teach, whatever I learned in life, I would teach to others, it came naturally to me, just as encouraging, helping and supporting others was. Now as a Christian, I know God has given me these, amongst other gifts, to help others. You may already know what your giftings are and you may be using them and growing in them … great!! Let me encourage you to continue because your Father takes great joy in seeing you use those gifts and talents for good and you never know how many lives you will touch and impact and change for the better. There are people out there who know what their giftings are and have used them for ministry but they have been knocked down and are missing in action, so to speak. This can happen for a number of reasons, 1 – the opinions and opposition of others. Feeling as though you are not supported and not received in your giftings, especially by those who are older in Christ than you, can be fully debilitating. But, I have learned that no one hears from God more about your life and walk than you do. I am not saying dismiss everyone else or to cast aside accountability or submittance, I know that God will use others in your life too. I am, however, saying that you should test everything you hear. Dont simply receive a word from a person as being “ from God” just because they say it is, nor receive a word from a person just because they have been a Christian for longer than you or have a title, this doesnt automatically default them to being right when it comes to your walk. Take all things to God and learn to hear from Him for yourself and walk in obedience to what He says. Yes .. we all get it wrong sometimes, but dont let that stop you from getting back up and taking your next step. When you seek and search for Him and His will with all of your ( honest, sincere, genuine) heart then you WILL find Him. Be diligent and cultivate your giftings, spend time learning and growing, even ask God for mentors and dont forget you have The Holy Spirit who is your Teacher and Helper. You have access to Him 24/7 and you can ask Him questions and advice anytime. 2 – Wrong self-image. This one is an invisible foe and we need to be aware of it to understand and defeat it. A wrong self-image is damaging on all levels of life, it can have you believe you are nothing, that you will amount to nothing and will accomplish NOTHING. Its an inner prison with jail wardens, slave drivers called negativity, doubt and criticism. Whats needed here is for God to renew that person in the spirit of their mind. There needs to be a fight within the person to overcome this wrong self-image. This fight is not just in the concious mind but it usually takes place in the subconscious, it sits behind the scenes and all anyone else gets to see is the fruit of it. If you know someone who just stuck in thinking wrongly about themselves, dont be driven off by that negativity, but pray with them and behind the scenes, speak positively to them about the good you see in them. They may be stuck in quicksand but God can pull them out and He can use people to do it. If you are that person who is stuck, ask God to break those bonds and to renew you in the spirit of your mind. Then walk with Him through renewing your conscious mind, start speaking the things He says about you, but more importantly start believing them, speaking them can be easy but believing them and letting those good things, those God things be what you refer back to when hard times hit. Get around people who believe in you, ask God to surround you with people who will naturally draw out those giftings in you, people who will encourage you and love you sincerely. Most importantly, get to know God because He is the best person there is .. ever, but also in getting to know Him you will get to know who He created you to be, the real you, the true you! Find yourself in Christ. 3 - exasperation, frustration and discouragement. If you have been called to leadership or any such ministry then you will understand these enemies well. Understanding your job and carrying ONLY the responsibility given you by God is important for this one. Leaders, your life will be an example to others, you will seem to have to live a more unreproachable life than others, but also, you are messengers of Gods truth to others, in life and words. What others do with your example and words is completely up to them. There is a saying that I find true in this, “ You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink”. Now I am not calling people horses, but I am saying you can only bring the message, or the words, or advice, or the teaching .. whatever form it comes in, you can only bring it, whether or not others listen and take heed, that is not your responsibility. That is theirs. If you have done what God has said and lead you to do then you have fulfilled your responsibility, dont allow yourself to carry more than than what God has given you, lest you become overburdened and burnt out. You will find moments where you could pull your hair out because you can see where a person is going, you may have warned or admonished them to go a different way, they may not listen and yes, they may suffer the consequences of their choices but dont let that deter you from taking your next step. When dealing with people, understand them, keep yourself humble and check your own heart motives. People can be fickle, they can be lead by, or even, a prisoner of their own emotions, they can be up one moment and then down the next. Feelings of exasperation, frustration and discouragement may come, but you dont have to give into them. We as Christians have the benefit of being able to plug into God and getting His viewpoint on a situation. Learning to have a mature response and learning how to walk with the long-suffering and patience that God calls us to is not always easy, in fact it very rarely is easy, but it is just as much our responsibility as anything else God gives us to do. You can ask God to fill your heart with His love for people in general and even specific people, you have access to wisdom from God, even words of knowledge.. He knows everyones past and can show why a person behaves the way they do. Be slow to judge and quick to love, but always be aware of your position and boundaries, you are not called to be everyones friend and that is ok. There are special privileges within friendship that not every person should have in your life. Understanding why you are in a persons life and why they are in yours is important to maintaining those boundaries. We also must be a good steward of our own hearts. Be cautious to not generalize every person because God has created us ALL uniquely. Get to know the person behind the smiles, the tears, the heartache. Learn to listen not only with your ears but with your heart and with discernment, listen through The Holy Spirit. Learn to enjoy your responsibilities, learn to enjoy the people you lead, take the good moments and learn from the bad and always, when dealing with others, remember your own humanity, your own struggles, because with the comfort God has given you, help others, help them to stand, to walk, to live and love. Father, You alone know each one of us by name, You know every hair on our heads and even the number of them. Give us Your eyes, Your ears and Your heart for others and help us be a help, help us be a blessing to others. Give us lips that will speak truth, Your truth in love. Give us Your heart of compassion for others. Set our faces like flint to do Your will here on earth as You have called us to. Give us strength for the battle and love to conquer all. You alone are mighty and awesome and You alone know how to touch each and every heart You have created. Let us breathe Your breath of hope and life into every situation You bring us to. In Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:24:11 +0000
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