Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

Where Do You Spike?
By Elin Henderson

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:4

Which one of us as believers is not interested in knowing our “spiritual gifts”? We take tests and personality quizzes, go to seminars and read books…all in an attempt to discover our gifts. I was recently at a meeting featuring Stuart Briscoe and he had some interesting insights into this area of gifts. He started by saying that we are each called to two sets of gifts. The first gifting is the “Christian giftings,” the things that we are all called to do. Then he spoke of a “second gifting or calling,” or what we would term our “spiritual gifts”—those gifts the Holy Spirit chooses to give each believer. I like to call them our “spikes” because they are areas where we really excel…like those significant points on a graph where the line leaps up dramatically.

Almost every gift of the Spirit mentioned by Paul in both 1 Corinthians 12 and in Romans 12:6-9 is also stated as a mandate for all believers. For example, we are all called to give, to encourage one another, to be hospitable and to teach each other. While we are all called to each of these areas, it is clear that some of us particularly spike in some of those areas. These are our “second giftings.” These verses also show us that we need to be involved in the lives of others to truly know our spikes. Our God is all about people, reaching out to them through human vessels like ourselves, so His giftings are given for the sake of building up others.

How do you figure out your spikes? I think by practicing the things that we know we are all called to do and being available to the Lord each and every day to use you in the lives of people. As we practice those “giftings,” we will soon come to see which areas we spike in. In our own strength, we cannot replicate a genuine spike. We can try to be extra-giving or extra-encouraging on our own, but it will only be through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us that we will genuinely spike if he has indeed gifted us in a particular area.

So, my advice…try them all out and see where you spike the highest! Or, ask a friend or family member, “Where do you think I spike?” And, when you identify your spike, start using it. Ask the Lord to open opportunities for you to reach out and spike into the lives of others!

GOING DEEPER:
1. Do you know your spiritual gifts?
2. Have you been practicing those gifts as the Lord has directed you?

FURTHER READING:
Romans 12:6-9; 1 Corinthians 12

Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to nine-year-old Callie and six-year-old Elias.