I recently spoke at a women’s conference and was invited to dinner the evening before my presentation. I was unable to attend the first day’s sessions, but a couple of the women excitedly told me they’d been placing all kinds of goodies at my place at the table all day. I wasn’t particularly curious (simply because I was more consumed with my presentation), but they seemed so excited, I couldn’t help but wonder for a moment what was waiting for me.When I arrived the next morning, I realized they weren’t kidding! Not only did I have piles of papers at my place, I had fresh flowers, candy, and many other goodies. And there was a wrapped gift. It was a small box with a beautiful bow. Now I was curious, but I didn’t want to seem too greedy, so I went about my business of setting up. But several women wanted me to open up my gift! I stood by my seat with several anticipatory faces around me. As I picked up the box, I heard something shake inside of it. Hhm. It was about the size of a specialty candy box. You know the kind? Filled with handmade, delicious, calorie-packed caramels and chocolates? My mouth watered as I thought about a handmade caramel!
Back to reality, I slowly slid off the ribbon and began to open the box, expecting scrumptious pieces of candy. I wanted that candy so badly, at first glance, I thought I saw what I expected…but then realized I was looking at birdseed. Birdseed? Who would play such a cruel joke on me? Are you kidding? (I wonder what my face looked like at that point.) Once I took the lid completely off the box, I noticed something shiny in the box. A watch. A beautiful watch. Much beyond my expectation. A generous gift. My heart melted.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. - 2 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NLT)
We might be surprised when we first hear God has a spiritual gift for us. We might anticipate it, or we might be too preoccupied to consider it. But it intrigues us. We wonder what it is and how we’ll use it. We dream up what we’d most like it to be, and we build our expectation. God peeks over our shoulder in anticipation. He might be more excitement than we are! And when we first open it up, we might be disappointed. It might not be exactly what we expected. And yet, it’s likely better than we could have imagined. Just when you think you have a box of birdseed, you might be surprised to find a watch. What if I had peeked inside and seen the birdseed and been so disappointed that I closed the box, perhaps even throwing it away?
Expect a gift. God is peeking over your shoulder in anticipation.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. - 2 Corinthians 12: 7,11 (NLT)
