Reading time: two minutes.
Deal with it. Nobody gets all the gifts.
God knows what he’s doing. He made you in such a way that some parts of your ministry labors come naturally and relatively easy for you.
But not all of them. Some parts of ministry are hard work. You’re not very good at those.
Relax. It’s enough for you to be good at what you’re good at, and then to figure out ways to fulfill your calling in ministry in the parts of your calling that are hard.
If you’ve been at this a while, by now you have a pretty good handle on your giftedness. You know what’s natural and easy for you, and you’ve figured out the parts that are just plain hard.
If you in the early stages of ministry, this is permission to start labelling the widely diverse responsibilities of ministry as 1. Gifted areas that you take to naturally, 2. Getting better areas that you’re learning and 3. Going to always be tough.
The sooner you can tell the difference, the better off you’ll be.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that you can neglect those parts of ministry that you find challenging. We’ll get to that in a minute.
It does mean that you can develop a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the way God made you; for the passions, skills, experiences and gifts of the Spirit that make your specialty areas such a joy.
Celebrate the fact that God knows your strengths and your weaknesses, and has still called and sent you into ministry.
He knows what he’s doing!
Now, about those weaknesses.
Leroy Biesenthal taught me that when Paul told Timothy to “Do the work of an evangelist,” (2 Timothy 4:5) he was implying that it was not Timothy’s strong suit, but he needed to learn to do it. It came with the territory.
Knowing our strengths and weaknesses keeps us humble, and it opens the door for reliance upon the Holy Spirit to show his power in these earthen vessels that we are.
It also humbles us enough to look to the body of Christ. Called servants and the people of God are in ministry together. Parts of the body. Complementary. That’s good.
You’re not supposed to have all of the gifts. None of us does. God planned it that way.
It’s a good plan.
In this busy, holy season, you’re likely being stretched to your limits. Be sure to pay attention. What’s hard? Seek the help of our great God, and the help of his people.
What’s your wheelhouse? Remember to celebrate your gifts in that area.
Find ways to balance the two. Your gettas will see you through your gottas.
God bless all of your ministry efforts in this blessed season!
Thanks for reading.
