Today, I started reading 1 Corinthians and I wanted to share with everyone what I have read and learned today. This is my first Bible study entry so I hope you all enjoy. Oh, and P.S.--there are only four more days until I depart of North Myrtle Beach! I'm so excited yet nervous at the same time. I just cannot wait to see how God is going to use me this summer!
1 Corinthians: 4-9
"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."
Wow. There are so many things in this verse that stand out to me and call to me. The first thing that stood out to me was this: for in him you have been enriched in every way. God hasn't just given certain people abilities in some areas of their life and nothing to others or He hasn't only allowed us to be good at one thing, but He has enriched us in every way possible. Isn't that awesome? Everything that we can do has been given to us by God and He has made all of those things good. It is only when we start to compare ourselves to others that we feel as though we don't have any abilities or that certain people are better than us at it. Everything that we do is good in God's eyes because He gave them [the spiritual gifts] to us. God enriched everyone equally. God enriched everything we do, so why is it that we continuously only pick certain abilities to focus on? Further into the scripture, we are told, therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord. God has given us all of our abilities in order to honor Him, but when we withhold any, and all of our efforts are poured into one gift, we are denying God our full potential to honor and please Him. God wouldn't have given us everything we can do if He meant for us to only pick and choose one or just a few.
Maybe we do this because we are afraid that we will not have the strength to do everything we are able to. But here's the thing, God will keep us strong to the end. He will be there, holding us and He will never let us fall. When we rely on ourselves to accomplish all of these things, of course we will fall and struggle because we cannot do it alone. We have to call on God and He will provide for us and help us along the way. God is faithful. He has called us to do so many great things and He will always be there for us. Always.
The overall message I want to bring forth from this text is to be thankful for all of the gifts and abilities you have been given. God has blessed each and every one of us, equally too, so that we can use these gifts to honor Him and do His will. We cannot look through the eyes of the world at everyone else's gift and start comparing ourselves to them because then we will become lost and we will fall short of what God has called us to do and has given us. Instead, be thankful for these gifts and know that God gave them to you and you alone. Remember, too, to call on God because He is very faithful to use, even though we are not so faithful to Him.
Dear God,
We cannot thank You enough for everything that You have given us. We may not realize at this point that you have blessed us in so many ways and that each of us has been enriched with all kinds of unique abilities to honor You. Help us open our eyes to see what You have given us and allow us to humble ourselves to You with these gifts. Also, Lord, please help us to remember that You are faithful and that You will never let us fall. It is so easy to try and do things on our own, but then we fall so fast and struggle so much. Let us first call on You so we can do everything You called us to do. Thank You, Father, for never giving up on us. Thank You, for everything You do. In Your Son's precious and holy name, amen.
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