What good is a gift if never used?

 

Many pray for more of God and for richer assignments. The prayer to be used by God is often answered, yet, forfeited for lesser things.

 

Why does one waste a breath on the prayer, then?

 

I suppose several things can happen:

 

One might not guard well the gift so that when other requests come along they shove the gift of God to the side. His desires become second, third, or fourth in line.

 

It could also be that what God is calling forward is so new it’s unrecognizable. When we are unwilling to move in a new way of doing things and cling to old methods, we can also miss the mark and the fullness of what God is doing goes untapped.

 

I often see many pray for this and that from God, but it’s mostly for personal consumption with little to no intent on surrendering it to Christ for His work. It’s just a feeding of oneself constantly without eyes for the needs of humanity.

 

We were charged with multiplying the Kingdom. This will always require a partnering effort and willingness to labor with Christ. The gift of being used by God is not just a fun idea to enjoy, but one that requires action on our part.

 

While your calling is certainly irrevocable, you can easily choose to not do what God has called you to. In this, you can forfeit your destiny, fully or partially. He doesn’t force us to do anything.

 

Even while I’m writing this I see a couch. Some of us have become lazy with the things of God. We have had way too much “couching.” You think there’s plenty of time to do what God has called you to, and you have a relaxed belief that He will wait on you forever.

 

Not true. Remember, the man who buried his talents lost them entirely. They went to the faithful person.

 

The test is looking at how much effort we put into other things versus the things of God.

 

The other possibility which we’ve talked about in previous writings is grace for a thing has been removed. In other words, your time with a certain thing or place has ended, and you are to move on to the next assignment. This isn’t always a bad thing, but you do have to acknowledge it honestly and move on. Otherwise, you’ll likely end up with an unused gift.

 

I’ve stayed too long many times trying to appease others and ended up stalling out God’s plans for me. In my heart, I knew it, but there was a fear of moving on. The unknown can be often scary. Yet, the life of Jesus in me was joyless, lacking passion, and I was merely stagnant in any kind of God-ordained movement. The truth was my heart had already moved on. I was in the wrong place for the new season.

 

If you find yourself in any of the above scenarios, sit with the Lord. Obey whatever He says. Repent where you need to. Renew your vows to Him. Then do what you need to do for any course correction.

 

Whatever you do, please know that it is not the heart of God that you would have any unused gifts.