God gave you a gift! know what it is?

Each of us was already known by and loved by God even before He created the earth! Doesn't that blow your mind? He knew you and planned your life and loved you before you were even placed in your mother's womb! He also placed gifts inside of you that you need to use. As born again believing Christians, we need to find out what gifts we have, because our gifts aren't intended to benefit ourselves...they are intended to benefit others! So you might ask yourself, "What is my gift?" And, "How do I find out what my gifts are?"

When I was a new Born-again believer, I asked myself those same questions! The answer is really quite simple. God placed various gifts inside of each of us. Everyone has God-given gifts, even non-believers! Those gifts are the things people notice the most about you, when they first get to know you. It is the thing that you are best at doing without even trying. You seem to love to operate in it, effortlessly! It is also a gift that can be used for personal gain, although it was never meant to be used in that way. Non-believers find their gifts and can even effortlessly operate in those gifts as non-believers, because the Lord gave them to them. God's gifts can never be taken from them. In the Bible, KJV: Romans 11:29, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." This means God will never take your gifts from you regardless of whether you use them for yourself or His Kingdom.

I have been a nurse for the last 25 years, and in the past, I worked as a contributing writer and photographer for a daily newspaper. It was exciting to be one of the first people called to report on a breaking news story! I have felt the scorching heat of a raging house fire in the middle of the night, and I have been in the center of a heated debate during a town election.
I was once placed in the middle of a football field during a high school football game, on one occasion, after I was asked to fill in for the normal sports writer. I was concerned at first, because I had just undergone a lumbar fusion a few weeks earlier. I was still wearing my hard shell back brace and was concerned I might get hit. However, I love the game of football, so I felt honored to fill in for the sports writer. The coach requested I go out on the field to get better photos. He reassured me that no one would touch me. I asked how he could be that certain.
He answered, "They were all told if they touch one hair on your head, they won't be playing in the play-offs!"  Both the offense and the defense were very protective of me that night! Apparently, both coaches told their team they had to protect me. The game was thrilling for me! As a women, I've never experienced the adrenaline and excitement of the game itself while on the football field, until that night. I felt the rumbling of the turf all around me as the quarterback threw the ball over my head, while others were tackled to the ground all around me. I did get some awesome photos.

It was just as exciting for me years earlier to have been called into a dying Hospice patients bedside when I was told he had just hours to live, and then the following morning to see the look on the face of the next nurse as she arrived! The agency who hired nurses for Hospice were desperate, and needed someone for the night shift to sit at a cancer patients bedside while he died. They told me I probably shouldn't expect to be more than three or four hours as he was very close to death. I don't know how they found my number, because I didn't even work for Hospice. I did have the next day off, so I agreed to do it. It still brings a smile to my face when I remember the look on that nurse as she arrived for her shift! It was total disbelief and shock! She was told he was not expected to make it through the night, and probably arrived thinking she would be turned away. When she entered the house and saw him sitting at the breakfast table enjoying his coffee and cereal, she gasped! She asked me if that really was the patient! "Of course!" I answered. I couldn't help it! God gave me the gift of healing. I heard rumors that he lived another 8 months and he was eventually discharged from Hospice. They never called me to do a shift for them again after that.

Those previous jobs for me, weren't just jobs.  I thought them of as the best jobs I ever had! Why? Because I had God-given gifts and talents that allowed me to operate effectively in those areas. I didn't know it at the time, though. It took me years to connect the dots and realize I had gifts and talents, and they were never meant to benefit me. They were meant for the benefit of everyone else!

Some people are gifted writers, and some are gifted speakers, and still others are gifted artists, while some have the gift of inspiration and the list goes on and on. You already know what your God-given gifts and talents are. Your gift is what you love to do and that you do best! There are still some of you reading this that don't know of other gifts and talents you have, that are lying dormant. They are meant to benefit God's kingdom. It is for the body of Christ, but others still benefit in spite of their unbelief.. It is the unique gift God placed inside of you before you were conceived and placed in your mother's womb and it was never meant for you to use to benefit yourself. It was meant to use to help others! We all have multiple gifts and talents that are God-given. Some people use those gifts in an UN-Godly manner, but I won't go there.

  I've been told I am a gifted writer, and a "getter." They call me the "getter" at my church because it's one of my gifts. All my life I've been able to place things into people's hands they tell me they need. Things just seem to come my way. I find myself searching for what they said they needed until I locate it! I can't help myself. It's a gift the Lord gave me, and it's also one I enjoy. It gives me great pleasure to be able to help someone with a need, and to see their faces light up when they receive it. I've also been told I have the gift of healing and the gift of the prophetic. I recently took a few classes and began using those gifts corporately. The more I operate in them, the better I become, and then more people seek out my gifts! I enrolled in Bible college and will receive my associates degree in Theology soon. I am recently re-married to a preacher who is my inspiration, and who connected the dots for me when I asked what my Spiritual Gifts were. My husband and I have been married for more than 5 years, and he is a true man of God.

Currently, I'm in the process of writing the novel the Lord commissioned me to write years ago, and I feel relieved that I finally started using my gifts! How do I know the Lord commissioned me to write the book? Because I heard people tell me over and over again, "You need to write a book," or "You should really write a book about that!" They would tell me that after talking to me even before I was a born-again christian! God sometimes does that, to get you back on track so your gifts can be used. It wasn't until many years later that I finally listened and I sat down to write the first words on the page. I'm almost half-way done with my book as of now.

As a Christian, you need to seek out your gifts and use them! They aren't meant for you to keep to yourself! If you don't use your gifts, you could be keeping others from seeing a blessing or a healing! It's almost as if you are hoarding it, if you don't use it. The body of Christ needs your gift! If you still don't know what your gifts are, seek an answer from your pastor, or pray and seek answers from the Lord. If you don't attend a Spirit-filled church, seek out a church who believes in the 5-fold Ministry. They will be more than happy to help you find your gift! If you can't locate or you feel you might need help, you might start by visiting our website http://www.rcmw.org where there are audio and video messages to help you, and links to other ministries who can help you. Blessings to you!