Flow
When I’m facilitating a spiritual gifts conversation, sometimes I ask participants to do the following:
In a few sentences, describe what it is like when you are operating in your areas of giftedness.
Stop a moment and do that yourself. Reflect on what using your gifts feels like. Then, continue reading…
Most of the time, I hear words and phrases like:
· Flow
· Energy
· Not depleted
· Feel a sense of purpose
· Connection to God
· Sense of being employed by God to do His work in meaningful ways
· A deep knowledge that I am in the right place at the right time
· Joyful
· Takes commitment but way less effort than doing things that are not my gifts
Some of the time, I also hear:
· Filled with the Spirit in the moment, but exhausted afterwards
· Cannot do it at all effectively without the Holy Spirit
All are true. Not necessarily all of the time.
If we’re using our gifts, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us, driven by LOVE (remember 1 Corinthians 13 follows 1 Corinthians 12—and is about love being the motivation for all gift use)—which is rooted in the love God has for us, focused on the Lord getting the glory (not our own egos) and using gifts for the greater good—we should experience a sense of purpose, fulfillment, flow, strengthening, and being used well. And, there are times when we’re engaged in ministries of Prophecy or Mercy or Leadership or Apostleship and others where we experience all I just described but also find it exhausting because it is hard. Delivering difficult messages to others, stepping into situations of deep grief and loss, guiding those who may not want to be led, starting new ministries from scratch often in places unreceptive—might leave you both joyful and with a sense of being in the center of God’s purposes for you as well as leave you depleted. Yet another reminder that we are not infallible nor omnicompetent.
All use of gifts should flow from ABIDING. Abiding in Christ. Day. By. Day. Moment. By. Moment. Jesus will do the refilling and refreshing and renewing we need. Like He did for Elijah, God will care for and provide for us while we take needed rest. And, just because you have a gift, that doesn’t mean you don’t set boundaries. Seek the Lord for the where and with/to whom you are to be ministering…and don’t take on more out of your own need to be needed. Use your God-given discernment and that of those you trust to guide your commitments.
May you know and experience JOY as you discover, develop, and use your gifts!
If you don’t know your gifts—or, if it’s been a while since you did a gifts assessment, please avail yourself of these free resources:
Downloadable Resources--See Sample List of Interest Areas; Your Spiritual Gifts—A Study Guide; Knowing Your Unique Calling and Purpose Study Guide; Whole-Life Ministry: A Form of Worship, Grace-Giving, and Living into Your Calling.
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Equipping Ministries Director at her church since 1999.
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© Photo by Shirley Giles Davis, all rights reserved.