The Permanence of His Gifts

Thus says the Lord GOD, “If the prince gives a gift out of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.” Ezekiel 46:16

I have often heard it said if a person does not use the gifts God gives them they will lose them. But this morning I am seeing a principle in Scripture that challenges such thinking. Apparently if a gift of inheritance was given to a son it was given on a permanent basis. If a gift of inheritance was given to a servant it was his until the year of jubilee (the ending of every 50 years). As a child of God I can rest assured that the Prince of all princes lavishes His gifts on me and never takes them back. What security!

While it is true that I can miss an opportunity to use my gifts and that particular opportunity may not come my way again, the gift remains. It is also true that I have a gracious heavenly Father who will present other opportunities to use my gifts if I but ask. It wasn’t until recently that I began realizing and thanking God for the gifts He has freely given to me. It has been in recognizing the gifts that I am placing myself in a position to begin using them. Two come to mind this morning.

God has given me the gift of humor. For years I misused it and others misunderstood it. At one time, being funny was labeled as immature and became an area of shame for me. I tried to lock it away and keep it from surfacing. But God in His tenderness revealed to me the purpose of that gift…it was to bring laughter and delight to others. Now I thank Him for the opportunities to make another person smile and feel better.

Communication is the other gift. Whether in written or verbal form I love to communicate. If I am not careful this gift can be misused but God is showing me ways to use it properly and as I follow His lead I am amazed at what He does with the words. Like the humor, there was a time I thought I had to squelch the words but I never quite succeeded. Good thing!

Why the examples? To illustrate the fact that while I may misuse a gift, while some may misunderstand a gift, while I may go through a time of not even using a gift….it is still there. God will not remove it. He gave it to be used and will in time help me to use it for its intended purpose. The same is true for you, dear one.

Father, I often failed to see what You so freely gave. Now I treasure each gift and stand in awe of how You allow them to be used. Amen.