Gifted And Blessed - Recognizing Who You Are
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 1:26 , 27 - Chapter 2:19, 20)
Each one of us was created with a gift - straight from the Giver And Sustainer Of Life Himself. Creator, Living Word, and the Breath Of Life; Spirit were all a part of the process of creation..."let US make mankind in our image..." (emphasis added) From the very beginning we are shown that as we see that Adam was gifted and blessed with the ability to name those that Father gave him the gift to name, and from that time on each one is what we know them as. But unfortunately, there are many who have gifts that are lying dormant, never having been activated or developed. Why is that? Many choose not to for fear of rejection, others because they were told that they had no talent and therefore by listening to what man has to say, they keep them buried.
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 1:26 , 27 - Chapter 2:19, 20)
Each one of us was created with a gift - straight from the Giver And Sustainer Of Life Himself. Creator, Living Word, and the Breath Of Life; Spirit were all a part of the process of creation..."let US make mankind in our image..." (emphasis added) From the very beginning we are shown that as we see that Adam was gifted and blessed with the ability to name those that Father gave him the gift to name, and from that time on each one is what we know them as. But unfortunately, there are many who have gifts that are lying dormant, never having been activated or developed. Why is that? Many choose not to for fear of rejection, others because they were told that they had no talent and therefore by listening to what man has to say, they keep them buried.
Throughout history we have seen others that have gifts that were used for the glory of the Lord, for HIS purpose and plans all the way back from Old Testament times. Now there were some gifts that were obvious to many, and others that few even recognized. We know the story of the building of the first Tabernacle (Exodus 25 - ). In chapter 28, the LORD is giving specific instructions to Moses as to the making of the Priestly Garments; "Tell all the skilled workers TO WHOM I HAVE GIVEN WISDOM in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest." (v. 3 - emphasis added)
Long before David was anointed as king, he served his father with a gift that nobody paid any attention to...he was a shepherd and was overlooked as having any significance. But Father saw what HE had built within him, and used that for purpose. (1 Samuel 16)Even when He instructed Samuel to follow His lead in finding the man that would be king over Israel, Samuel was making assumptions by appearance but what did the LORD say to him? “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (v 7) He was not looking at what was readily apparent, He was seeing what others could not, but HE knew what was inside of David, after all; He created him in His image.
David also had other gifts; he was a musician, a psalmist (singer), and a mighty warrior...all of which served the LORD in one way or another. But what would have happened if he decided not to use those gifts, not allow the Father to teach him how to develop them and sharpen his skills? I'm sure there were some who said things to him out of jealousy designed to bring down his self-esteem or self-confidence, but whatever was said did not deter him from the confidence he had in the Lord's ability, and it proved to be prosperous for the man after Father's own heart. His determination to follow the LORDS leading and even in his mistakes, to grab hold of the psalmist gift and create such wonderful and life changing songs, where would some of us be today? We have learned to depend upon the Lord through some of the very words written by David to help get us through many a battle, to help us praise the Lord, and to help us in times of personal fellowship with our Father.
Before my mother had passed on, my god-parents had told my older brother that it was my fault that my mother was in the hospital because I was so rebellious and bad (my mother had intestinal cancer). He came to me after talking to them and told me that if he found out that it was me that put her in the hospital, he was was going to come back and kill me. When she died, and I was placed under the care of my sister who is nearly two years older than me. I had already been living a life of torment by the eleven years of abuse that I endured at the hands of my mother and god-parents (they are deceased as well), and the abuse continued verbally and emotionally by my sister.
One day we had a fight and as I ran to my room (to prevent myself from physically hurting her), she yelled at me "go on, go on, do like you always do, run away! You are nothing and you will never amount to nothing! You're just gonna grow up to be an old lonely woman by yourself!" Those words hurt me to the core of my being, especially coming from my sister. I lived in fear of my brother's words coming true, and I started to believe the things that my sister had said about me. But what I did not think about was the "ace" I already had within me; I had the Lord. See I had given my heart to Him when I was eight years old, and even though I had renounced Him when I turned thirteen, He was still with me and not just that, but all He created me to be. But it was up to me to decide whether to take those gifts which He had deposited in my spirit and allow Him to develop them so that they could manifest and be used for His glory. I had a choice; I could live in fear of rejection by man, or I could live in the faith of knowing that whatever is in me will be brought out because HE created me in HIS image and therefore I have a part of His blessed abilities residing within this vessel that He has called His own.
What are your gifts, your abilities? Each one has something that is being used or can be used to honor the Father and bring recognition to Him. There are many that are both in the world and of the world that have not allowed people to stop them from being who they are...in the world and in the Lord. Never let anyone tell you that you will never amount to nothing, never let anyone make you feel like less of the person you are. Never allow anyone to keep you from reaching for your goals within the best of YOUR ability.
There is a quote from Pauletta Vaughn that is carved into the top of my old grade school that I never forgot; "Nothing beats a failure but a try", and later on in life as I began to learn the Word, these also are engrained within; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philippians 4:13)
Remember the One who created you in His images, and remember the One who breathed the breath of Life into you.
Long before David was anointed as king, he served his father with a gift that nobody paid any attention to...he was a shepherd and was overlooked as having any significance. But Father saw what HE had built within him, and used that for purpose. (1 Samuel 16)Even when He instructed Samuel to follow His lead in finding the man that would be king over Israel, Samuel was making assumptions by appearance but what did the LORD say to him? “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (v 7) He was not looking at what was readily apparent, He was seeing what others could not, but HE knew what was inside of David, after all; He created him in His image.
David also had other gifts; he was a musician, a psalmist (singer), and a mighty warrior...all of which served the LORD in one way or another. But what would have happened if he decided not to use those gifts, not allow the Father to teach him how to develop them and sharpen his skills? I'm sure there were some who said things to him out of jealousy designed to bring down his self-esteem or self-confidence, but whatever was said did not deter him from the confidence he had in the Lord's ability, and it proved to be prosperous for the man after Father's own heart. His determination to follow the LORDS leading and even in his mistakes, to grab hold of the psalmist gift and create such wonderful and life changing songs, where would some of us be today? We have learned to depend upon the Lord through some of the very words written by David to help get us through many a battle, to help us praise the Lord, and to help us in times of personal fellowship with our Father.
Before my mother had passed on, my god-parents had told my older brother that it was my fault that my mother was in the hospital because I was so rebellious and bad (my mother had intestinal cancer). He came to me after talking to them and told me that if he found out that it was me that put her in the hospital, he was was going to come back and kill me. When she died, and I was placed under the care of my sister who is nearly two years older than me. I had already been living a life of torment by the eleven years of abuse that I endured at the hands of my mother and god-parents (they are deceased as well), and the abuse continued verbally and emotionally by my sister.
One day we had a fight and as I ran to my room (to prevent myself from physically hurting her), she yelled at me "go on, go on, do like you always do, run away! You are nothing and you will never amount to nothing! You're just gonna grow up to be an old lonely woman by yourself!" Those words hurt me to the core of my being, especially coming from my sister. I lived in fear of my brother's words coming true, and I started to believe the things that my sister had said about me. But what I did not think about was the "ace" I already had within me; I had the Lord. See I had given my heart to Him when I was eight years old, and even though I had renounced Him when I turned thirteen, He was still with me and not just that, but all He created me to be. But it was up to me to decide whether to take those gifts which He had deposited in my spirit and allow Him to develop them so that they could manifest and be used for His glory. I had a choice; I could live in fear of rejection by man, or I could live in the faith of knowing that whatever is in me will be brought out because HE created me in HIS image and therefore I have a part of His blessed abilities residing within this vessel that He has called His own.
What are your gifts, your abilities? Each one has something that is being used or can be used to honor the Father and bring recognition to Him. There are many that are both in the world and of the world that have not allowed people to stop them from being who they are...in the world and in the Lord. Never let anyone tell you that you will never amount to nothing, never let anyone make you feel like less of the person you are. Never allow anyone to keep you from reaching for your goals within the best of YOUR ability.
There is a quote from Pauletta Vaughn that is carved into the top of my old grade school that I never forgot; "Nothing beats a failure but a try", and later on in life as I began to learn the Word, these also are engrained within; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philippians 4:13)
Remember the One who created you in His images, and remember the One who breathed the breath of Life into you.
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