It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT
Have you ever filled out one of those “filter” questionnaires to select a vacation house for a great summer week? What are the characteristics you really want? How many bedrooms? How close to the beach? Some of the questions elicit a maybe, some a definitive no, others an emphatic yes. You have an idea of what you want the week to look like, so you filter every possibility through your desires.
Some people think the gifts of the Spirit are acquired in the same way. You check them out, see what you’d like and what you certainly don’t want to have. When you’ve narrowed your choice down to what you’d like, you begin to work on trying out skills in those areas, praying God will amplify what you do. But that is NOT how it works.
God’s Word is very clear. Spiritual gifts aren’t earned, unlocked, or chosen. They are received. Spiritual gifts are given specifically to each individual through the wise assignment of the Holy Spirit. They are given to empower followers of Jesus to build up the church.
The gifts are like our salvation. Salvation is a gift we could never earn. Paul reminds us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 6:8-9 NIV). Likewise, the gifts of the Spirit are received by grace, not earned by effort or merit. There is no cause for boasting or pride. Instead, a gift of the Spirit is given to encourage humble service and be used in love to strengthen others, not to compare ourselves or boost our own self-image.
We are undeniably prone to comparison in our humanness. Sometimes we start to think that one gift is greater than another, that maybe the public and platform gifts are better than others. That is foolish and is not from the God who loves and uses all of us in just the way He knows is best. 1 Corinthians 12:6 NLT tells us very clearly, “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” To wish we had another gift or consider ours less than someone else’s in comparison is to doubt the wisdom and love of God.
- God, I know the Holy Spirit has given me the most amazing gifts I could never earn or deserve. I know what He has given me lines up exactly with Your will for my life. Help me serve You and build Your people with a grateful and willing heart.