Everyone Has Gifts to Share & A Story to Tell

April 30, 2025

In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby discusses how God communicates with each of us through the Holy Spirit, using the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church. He emphasizes that God invites us to partner with Him in His work. What an incredible privilege that is!

Blackaby points out that whenever God speaks to us or invites us to join Him in His mission, we inevitably face a crisis of belief. Doubts and fears arise: "How can I do this? I don’t have the words or skills for it." Blackaby wisely says, "What we do next reveals what we believe about God." Our response shows whether we truly trust God and believe that He can use us, despite our doubts.

There are countless stories of individuals stepping out in faith, unsure of how they would accomplish the task ahead or how they would provide for it, only to see God provide in ways they never expected.

I witnessed this firsthand when I served as pastor in Rock Hall, Maryland. My wife, Debbie, and her small group began praying about what God might want them to do. They felt led to start a clothing closet for the community. Despite having no budget, no clothing, no place to store items, and only a handful of volunteers, they stepped out in faith. Within months, the local funeral home offered them an old building down the street from the church, covering all utilities. A local business donated dozens of clothing racks, new shoes, and clothes. The community rallied, dropping off bags of used clothing, filling both floors of the building. Each month, the clothing closet would open, and people in need could take whatever they required for themselves and their children.

This story is just one of many examples of how stepping out in faith and trusting God’s provision leads to extraordinary outcomes.

William Barclay writes, “It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Jesus what we have and what we are.”

This is precisely what the feeding of the five thousand illustrates. Andrew brought a young boy to Jesus, who had only barley bread (the cheapest kind) and two small fish. Though the boy had little to offer, in Jesus’ hands, even the smallest offering can become something great. Rick Warren writes:

There are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference…There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters…Today, thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the Body suffers. For Christians, service is not optional, something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life.

It’s easy to look at the overwhelming need in the world today and wonder what difference one person can make. But like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, or the small group that started a clothing closet impacting hundreds of families, we can trust that if we offer what we have to Jesus, He will multiply it to make a difference. As Paul reminds us, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Are you sharing your gifts? Are you telling others about what God has done in your life? What small or seemingly insignificant gift does God want you to offer, so that He can do “abundantly more than [you] can dream or imagine”? What step does God want you to take to create an opportunity for His Kingdom to break into this world?

When you begin to make excuses why you cannot possibly do what you think God may be asking you to do, remember those who have gone before you:

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

John the Baptist ate bugs

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

Zacchaeus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer....AND

Lazarus was dead

And God used all of them in mighty and miraculous ways! God will do the same with YOU!

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

-I Corinthians 12:4-7