"The GIFT of Helping Others"

I was talking to a friend the other day, and they reminded me that God is the owner of our gifts and talents.  We may operate in them, but He has a plan for them and to be successful in life, it is best to follow His plan.  Let me explain...  See I have been in a place where I don't really force myself on others.  I can see a need, but because so many people are self sufficient, and easily offended or intimidated, I don't always offer my help.  My friend reminded me that this was wrong.  At any time, God can call on the gift He has placed in us and require that we use it whether the person wants it or not!  That kind of messed me up, but in a good way.  

THE GIFT IS THE GIVERS

I have literally watched from afar, people I KNEW I could help walk around in a circle going to different people trying to get help.  I knew that they were not going to get what they needed, even if they got what they wanted. My thoughts for years have been that when they "get tired they will ask."  Don't take it wrong, it is not that I see myself as this bright light of anointing or anything like that, I just recognize how God uses people, me included.  Some plant, some water and God gives the increase.  Many times I have had to dig up dirt, other times I get to plant, and other times I  simply water what others have planted, and of course... God gives increase.  But the error of my thinking was that I often chose to wait for them to decide if they needed help. That thinking can leave us immobile and leave others waiting way too long to get what they need... what God has already provided for them.  

God never sent the harvest to the laborers, He said He sent the laborers to the harvest. 

USE YOUR GIFT

I have learned in this life that anything that one person struggles with is probably something someone else struggles with, so in light of my rebuke,  here is some encouragement if it is you.  First of all, Use your gift!   You kinda already know what it is.  We often overshadow ourselves because it does not look like someone else's.  But we know what we are good at, we know what we do well and what we enjoy doing that helps people.  False humility causes us to ignore it because it feels like pride when we acknowledge it.  So, use the gift you have to be a blessing to others.   If you attend a local church and you are waiting for someone to call on you to serve, that is the same as what I was doing.  Make yourself available to be a blessing because though it is a gift that you possess, it is not really yours. God calls us to use what He has given to us. 

TRUST YOUR GIFT

Sometimes we have to  trust the gift that God has given to us and understand that as long as we offer help from a  place of  love and not judgment we are okay.  Doing our part to reach others is part of the ministry of reconciliation that God has given to us to help people get back to Him.  Trust that even if it does not look like you helped someone, you are not the one to decide that.   I recall  more than 40 YEARS ago at a sleepover a young woman was there that I didn't know, she shared the scriptures with us and to this day though I don't recall her name, I remember the verses she read and what she said.  It was a turning point in my life.  It gave me boldness to be a Christian around my peers.  Every choice I made after that night was touched by a love for God and His word.   She will never know the impact she had on  my life, but again only God gives the increase.   So trust the Giver of your gift to cause it to accomplish what He intends.  Sometimes His intention is conviction, sometimes it is repentance, encouragement, or thought and sometimes it is a complete overhaul.  Leave the results to God, our only job is to share the gift and share it from a place of LOVE.

So enjoy your week, and take time to help somebody!