Some believers need to stir up the gift of God in themselves. Does that apply to you? Remember how it was when you first became saved and how it radically changed your life? I sure do.
I remember the first Bible I read after I became saved. I still have that Bible. It’s too worn to use it, but I still have it as keep sake. The first year I became a Christian, I read and studied the entire Bible in about 11 months. I neatly underlined verses that stood out to me. I was so excited about my newfound faith. Eventually, God called me into the ministry.
But over time, if you just coast along in your faith, you can’t maintain the excitement and a vibrant level of engagement. That’s because when something becomes routine, it no longer brings the same level of fulfillment it used to.
When our relationship with the Lord gets that way, and it will if we don’t do anything to prevent it, we have to do some things to make our relationship with God more relevant. Now that’s assuming that you want more than mere religion out of your relationship with the Lord.
How You Used to Be
In Paul the apostle’s second letter to Timothy, he calls on Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was in him. “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands,” Paul writes (2 Tim. 1:6, NASB).
The phrase “stir up” (KJV) or “kindle afresh” comes from a Greek word meaning to rekindle or awaken. The word denotes something that was on fire but has gone out. Or something that was awake but is now asleep.
Perhaps that refers to some aspect of your relationship with the Lord. For instance, you used to faithfully pray in the morning before you left for work because you knew that when you pray you have a more victorious day. But you have gotten away from that.
Or maybe you used to spend time in the Word each morning so God could speak to your spirit and you could deepen your faith. But you’ve allowed that to become a thing of the past.
How about the gift God has given you that you used to use for Him by working in the local church, but you don’t do that anymore?
If any of these things apply to you, God wants you to rekindle those things; He wants you to awaken those things.
Motivation to Stir Up the Gift of God in You
The question is how do you rekindle the gift of God in you? You can do that by simply doing what you used to do the way you used to. Let me share the following points as encouragement to do that:
1. First and foremost, the gift God has given you is important to the body of Christ. Each of us is like a member of His body (Romans 12:5). When we use the gift God has imparted to us to contribute to the body of Christ, the local church becomes stronger and more complete. The opposite is true when we fail to exercise our gift.
2. “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29, NASB). That means God has not changed His mind about His purpose for your life. The gift He has placed in you is a reflection of His purpose for your life. You still have the gift of God in you. It just needs to be rekindled or awakened.
3. We are stewards of the gift or gifts God has given us. You don’t own the gift God has given you. You are not free to do with it as you please. But at the Lord’s return, you must give account of what you did with your gift(s). Your reward in heaven will be based upon your stewardship of what God committed to your care.
It seems as if far too many believers are content with being only a churchgoer and not getting involved in the work of the local church and in the larger work of the Kingdom. But that’s not the will of God for any of us. He has gifted us so we can be a part of what He is doing in these last days.
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.