Thankful Thursday – Conviction and God’s Word

Do you ever wish you could sing really well, or preach, or teach Sunday School and Children’s church? Or on the other hand do you wish sometimes that you didn’t do those things? I know this is an odd way to start a blog post but I must confess I’ve been desiring to serve the Lord like so-and-so does and thinking “why can’t I do….. like this person.” “why do I have to do this when I could be doing that?” All of these things stemmed from not being satisfied with where God has me, happy with what He has me doing.

God, ever so faithfully, brought these verses to my mind the other day as I was contemplating my dis-contentment.

1 Corinthians 12

1. Now concerning Spiritual gifts, bretheren, I would not have you ignorant.

8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9. To another Faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

12. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

13. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body…

15. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16. And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

18. But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

21. And the eye cannot say unto the hand,  have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem more feeble, are necessary:

28. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

29. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers?  are all workers of miricles?

30. Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

I know I’ve skipped over some verses here in an effort to shorten this post and give you an idea of where I’m going with this. My point is that God used these verses in my life this week to say “Hey, I don’t have you doing such and such because I need you to do this” What I do in my service for God is not more or less important than what someone else is doing, it is right in God’s will, where I need to be! I continued reading:

31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13

1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2. And though I have te gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

8. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

I don’t know how I ever missed that these two chapters “just fit” together but I realized, more importantly, that whatever I do in the service of the Lord, if its not done with love, “it profiteth me nothing.”  I hope I got across my thoughts clearly today and that this was at least a little help/encouragement to someone else.