Beth Langford

I was reading up on the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which can be found in Galations 5:22 and 1 Corinthians 12:7, when I realised that God desires to shower us with so many gifts.

The Bible says: “ask and it shall be given unto you” and we can use these gifts to help us in our everyday lives such as goodness or self-control. However He gives us these Fruits and Gifts with a purpose; a purpose He has entrusted in our hearts for the glory of His name. For example, to the one He gives joy, he must use it to convey to others the joy of God.

Some gifts are more visible than others like the Gift of healing and others are more subtle like the Fruit of gentleness. Each gift is just as equal and necessary as the others because we are all a part of one body and each part must fulfil its purpose otherwise the whole body won’t work. One person must never be jealous of another ones gifts and should never ask for them with the wrong intentions for it says in James 4:2-3 “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even if you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are wrong.” So you must ask for gift with a sincere heart and be prepared for the future tasks God has in store for you. Remember “be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” Philippians 1:6. So God’s work isn’t done when gives you gifts, it’s only just begun.

When God gives someone the gift of patience, what’s the first thing He’s gonna do? Try it out of course! In the film Evan Almighty, Joan (Evan's wife) asked God for opportunities for her family to grow closer together and that’s what she received but not in the way she expected.

When God blesses us with these presents it doesn’t change us or who we are. Instead it makes us more like the person He made us to be.

Im sure you have come across this poem before:

When I Asked God for Strength
He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face.
When I Asked God for Brain & Brawn
He Gave Me Puzzles in Life to Solve
When I Asked God for Happiness
He Showed Me Some Unhappy People.
When I Asked God for Wealth
He Showed Me How to Work Hard.
When I Asked God for Favours
He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard.
When I Asked God for Peace
He Showed Me How to Help Others.
God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
He Gave Me Everything I Needed.

- Swami Vivekananda

So anyway it’s summer and armed with our gifts we can make God known to others even without our Fridays nights to drag our friends to.