Spiritual gifts are the expression of God’s heart through His people into the world around them. Not only do they serve to build up His church, but they also reveal His character to a broken, hurting world.
In different seasons of my life, the Holy Spirit seems to give me a special emphasis. Usually, it becomes a theme that changes me first, and then when I preach about it, God will do extraordinary things because it is already such a living word in my heart. Acts 1:8 is like that for me right now.
Godly discernment is the divine ability to rightly judge what is going on. In its broadest sense, discernment is closely related to wisdom as an expression of the spirit of God. By this Spirit, we can function in the manner that Jesus did: “He [did] not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears” (Isa. 11:2-3).
Being an encourager is not something that has always come naturally to me. Truthfully, I was more likely to take a critical or “tough love” approach when dealing with people, priding myself on “telling it like it is” and not sugar-coating things. But then the Lord convicted my heart with the reminder that it is actually His kindness that leads us to repentance, and a process of change began in me.
For the Lord would say, “I am preparing an assault against the enemy that is going to release your captivity. For the enemy has come to take you captive, to capture your emotions, to capture your finances, to capture your children, to take the things that I want for blessing, and try to rob and steal from you.”
“I will stand my watch… to see what He will say to me…” (Habakkuk 2:1)
Simply expressed, prophecy can be defined as hearing the voice of God and speaking what He says. This gift is commonly experienced in two ways.
Teachers feel compelled to instruct. We can’t help it! We are fascinated with knowledge and driven to share what we learn with others. Indeed, it is a gift, even if we have to learn to recognize when someone actually wants to be taught and when we are trying to force our knowledge on others.
For the Lord would say, “You have asked for wisdom, and you need wisdom. I am going to provide for you a well of wisdom.”
Recently, good friends of ours who pastored a local church were divorced and left their position. The pressures and demands of ministry simply became too much for this couple to handle.
Our friends are not alone. Lately, I’ve encountered some sobering statistics:
Before the Lord radically changed my life, there was a point when I was really struggling as a stay-at-home wife and mom—it took every ounce of my strength just to maintain my daily routine. Even simple chores like preparing meals for my family felt like a monumental challenge.
