What God Wants
It is important, and we would like to know and understand what God wants us to do. As followers of Jesus, we know this is a vital part of our relationship with Him. We pray, study Scripture, seek wise counsel and look for opportunities to serve. Something is missing. How can I discover my giftedness? In the following excerpt from his excellent book and Bible Study Jesus Continued, J. D. Greear reminds of the Holy Spirit’s work in us and how we can discover our spiritual gifts.
We know God’s will generally. He wants us to know Him and make Him known. He wants us to live on mission, according to His kingdom agenda, not ours. But how do we discern what God’s will is for us specifically? What does God want from you? We know what God wants from believers in general, but what does God expect of us in this time and place? How can we be sure we are doing the right things for God? How can we know we are fulfilling His will?
The good news is the Scriptures give us guidance in how to discern the specifics of what God wants from us, and this discernment includes following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appears 59 times in Acts, and in 36 of those, He is speaking, guiding, and instructing.
Through the gospel, we experience the fullness of the Spirit, first receiving Him in faith and then growing full of Him as we deepen our understanding of what God has done for us in Christ. Through God’s Word, we receive guidance from the Spirit. He also works through our personal gifts the church, our spirit, and our circumstances-but never in ways that contradict what God’s Word clearly says.
Do you know what your spiritual gift is?
Affinity: things you are really passionate about.
Ability: something you find yourself naturally good at.
Affirmation: what people in the church tell you that God is using you to do in their lives.
Being guilt driven can crush you and paralyze you, but being gift driven becomes empowering and liberating.
Questions How can we lovingly affirm the spiritual gifts we see in others?
When was the last time you benefited from a believer’s exercise of a spiritual gift?
How did his or her actions strengthen you?
—Mike