Author Archives: madisonmorelock99

I’d planned to write this a long while back, after taking a quiz on spiritual gifts and thinking about my results. I recently re-took one of those quizzes, which reminded me to go ahead and get my thoughts written down. So, here you go!

There was a time when I felt as if my gifts were less significant than others’. I felt that because I didn’t have the overly “spiritual” ones, my strengths weren’t worth as much as someone else’s. Example: I’ve always scored lower on things like evangelism, apostleship, or prophecy. My highest scores tend to be in administration and hospitality.

And even though I enjoy and value these attributes in my life, I felt like I must be inferior to those with the gifts that I deemed more interesting.

But there were a few things wrong with that perspective.

Firstly, who am I to say to God that He gave me the wrong set of gifts? That in uniquely designing me to fulfill His purpose for my life, He made a mistake somewhere?

God alone knows the path my life is going to take, and the things He’s preparing me to do. He’s equipping me with just the right experiences, skills, and desires that I need for each season I enter.

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker – an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?” (Isaiah 45:9 NASB)

Secondly, there’s strength in diversity. Because of the unique gifts I’ve been given, I’m able to fill a need that someone else can’t. And in whatever areas I fall short, there’ll be other uniquely gifted people to fill my lack.

Really reaping the benefit of this diversity requires humility and a willingness to be vulnerable with others. If I try to be all things at all times, I will fail. But if I’m willing to admit my limitations, that opens up an opportunity for God to overcome my inadequacies – maybe by providing the specific person that He’s been preparing behind the scenes to meet that need.

And, none of us were meant to be in competition with each other. We were designed for the same purpose, and we’re part of the same family of God. We’re all striving for the end goal of being faithful to Him in whatever He’s called us to do. This means each of our gifts, our paths, and our callings will look different; yet none of these are less valuable than another.

The more I try to be someone else, to mimic their gifts or their calling, the further I stray from fulfilling the unique role I was called to play. Until I learn to value the path God has set out for me, how can I faithfully follow it?

“And if the ear says, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired” (1 Corinthians 12:16-18 NASB)

And finally, we must come to an understanding of the source of our gifts. The spiritual gifts that we receive are given to us by God, and out of God. They are reflections of who He is. In using the gift of wisdom, one can reflect the God who created the earth by His wisdom. By living out the gift of service, one can step into the shoes of the Servant who washed His disciples’ feet.

So what does that mean for someone like me, who scores high on the “boring” gifts, such as administration? It means that in my ability to plan, schedule, and coordinate, I can more fully appreciate the God who has had a plan for salvation from the very beginning, who schedules each step in perfect timing, and who sovereignly holds all things together.

When I read the Bible I see prophecies that are fulfilled even to the smallest degree. I notice the rich symbolism scattered so precisely throughout Scripture. I think about how out of nothing, God designed our bodies and world to operate in mind-blowingly complex ways.

In all of this, I stand in awe of God’s incredible attention to detail. Witnessing the depth of God’s creativity and organization amazes me, and I love to see these attributes of His.

So, why wouldn’t I value the opportunity to reflect His character in administrative ways? By recognizing my spiritual gifts as given to me by the one who possesses them in fullest measure, I’m reminded to treat everything I do – even the small, seemingly mundane things – as acts of worship.

Plus, I want to be a good steward of everything God has given me – whether that be my money, my relationships, or my skills and abilities. I need to be intentional about how well I’m valuing and using what I’ve been given.

Whatever your gifts are, understand that God has given them to you of Himself. You have an opportunity to know Him more deeply and worship Him more fully, by valuing and exercising the gifts that came from Him.

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children;” (Ephesians 5:1)

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men…” (Colossians 3:23 NASB)

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'” (Matthew 25:21 NASB)

It’s been really valuable for me to reflect on my gifts and consider how they impact the ways I view myself, others, and God. I absolutely encourage you to take a spiritual gifts quiz and then to look for ways you see your results reflected in the character of God.

As you do, understand that the gifts He’s given you may shift as you step into different seasons of your life. But in every season, He’s giving you exactly what you need to serve Him faithfully.

Give yourself grace when your strengths, calling, and abilities don’t look like someone else’s. God didn’t ask you to be more like them; He asked you to be more like Him.

And then, worship Him by stepping out and using those gifts however He’s calling you to. View everything you do – from the exciting to the routine – as an opportunity to faithfully steward what He’s given you.

Related Scripture

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it.

But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”

1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:5-25‬ ‭NASB

Our worth is the result of God’s love for us, not the other way around. Our worthiness is not what gives God reason to love us in the first place.

Instead, we have worth because God loves us. It is his love for us that both assigns and demonstrates our value.

There’s no quality of ours that can make us deserving of this love. We simply are loved – in this moment, and forever.

If there was something we could do to make ourselves lovable, then our worthiness would be in a constant state of flux. Our value would rise and fall based on our accomplishments, our relationships, our ability to measure up to others. There is no stability in that kind of self-worth.

But our value is not dependent on anything except the fact that we are loved by the one who formed us and knows us better than any other could.

Even when we fail to perform to our best ability, or when we feel lonely and disconnected from others, or when we’re trapped in a game of comparison, our worth does not change. These things have nothing to do with who we are as beloved children of God.

So if any of you are struggling with feeling worthy of God’s love (as I often do), know that your value is already set in stone. Your Creator has loved you since the beginning, and that truth will never change.

Related Scripture

“‘For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,’ says the Lord who has compassion on you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭54:10‬ ‭

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭

“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:9-10‬ ‭

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:1‬

Lord, You have been so faithful to me. Even when I have been faithless, You’ve never stopped being faithful.

You know all my sins well before they ever enter my mind. And there is so much sin in me. You know every flaw in me to the deepest degree, and yet You’ve never turned away from me.

You’ve been patient with me; You’ve sat with me through my failures.

………..

You’ve protected me from things that would have caused me pain. You’ve kept me from so much harm. And even when I’ve experienced seasons of difficulty, You’ve brought me through them.

You’ve never left me; You’ve sat with me through trials.

………..

Lord, would You sit with me now, and in my coming years? While I wrestle with doubts and temptations? While I seek to learn and know You more? While I succeed, and while I fall short?

While I grow up, would you continue to sit with me?

………..

As I ask You this question, I realize it’s just an echo of Yours to me.

Will you, Madison, sit with Me?

You ask me to draw near to You, and You promise to draw near to me.

………..

I know where my proper place is – seated at Your table, and seated by Your feet. When I can do nothing else, I simply have to sit with You.

Remind me of this – In my tendency to action, to move ahead without Your blessing, and in my tendency to run and hide when things are hard.

Remind me to sit with You, to simply be still in Your presence. To spend time with You as a friend, to learn from You as a teacher, and to worship You as my Savior.

Lord, thank You for sitting with me. Help me to sit with You.

Related Scripture

Psalm 1:1-2

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor seat in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 73:28

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.”

Psalm 91:1

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 145:18

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”

James 4:8

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

A few months ago, I read The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. It’s a short, easy read (quite unlike the title of this post), and I definitely recommend it! I’ve summarized the gist of it below, and then after that I’ll get into how it’s been impacting my life the last several months.

…………

Alright, here goes. In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, a lengthy genealogy is suddenly interrupted by a two-verse narrative:

Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ And God granted him what he requested.

In his book, Wilkinson walks readers through the four components of this prayer, outlining what made it so impactful. In addition to God granting Jabez what he requested, this short prayer was immortalized in Scripture, so clearly there’s something about it that holds value for our prayer lives today.

Oh, that You would bless me indeed…

At first glance, this may seem like a selfish prayer. In this moment, Jabez isn’t praying for those in need around him. He’s asking to be blessed himself.

But in actuality, this is a pretty selfless prayer.

How often do we find ourselves asking God for the things we want? We ask Him to help us get a good test score or land our dream job. We don’t know for sure if any of these things are actually part of His plan for us, yet we dare to ask for them anyway.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with bringing our specific concerns and desires to God. But there’s also nothing wrong with simply asking God to bless us, as Jabez did.

Instead of asking for what he wanted in that particular moment, Jabez just asked God to bless him as He saw fit. He surrendered his desires to God’s will for his life.

We know that God loves us and is concerned for our welfare; we also know that He knows what’s truly best for us. Thus, the safest prayer we can pray is that God would bless us according to His will and not our own often misguided desires.

This prayer models for us the attitude that we must have towards God. We must surrender our will to Him, asking Him to bless our lives according to His plans. He has so much good in store for us, and the last thing we want to do is miss out on His will simply because we were too afraid to ask!

…and enlarge my territory…

Next, Jabez asks God to enlarge his territory. In other words, to increase his areas of opportunity, his mobility, his influence. Once he’s been blessed by God, he needs to make the most of those blessings. So, he asks God to give him the ability to do so by enlarging his territory.

Honestly, this is kind of a scary prayer. If we ask God to widen our reach and sphere of influence for Him, we have to be ready for Him to answer us! God’s not going to turn us down if our hearts are willing to serve Him. And this feels intimidating – who am I to do great things for God? Yet the third piece of this prayer reminds us exactly why and how we can.

…that Your hand would be with me…

All throughout the Bible, God enlarged the territories of those who served Him. Often the underdogs, they accomplished impossible tasks at His command. Because these were victories they could never have achieved on their own, they had to rely on God to do it, which means that He alone received the glory. All that was required of them was a willingness to obey.  

And this should be our prayer as well – that we would never act in our own strength, but that God would move through us in everything we do.

...and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!

Finally, Jabez prays that God would protect him from evil, sin, and pain. After being blessed and given opportunities to serve God, and after asking God to equip the work he does, he needs protection from anything that might disrupt God’s will for his life

…………

A few weeks ago, I was discussing this passage with my coworkers. As I was walking through the components of the prayer, I realized that I could recognize each element of it at work in the last several months of my life.

When I first started praying this prayer, my focus was mainly on Jabez’s first request, that You would bless me indeed, and on what that could look like in my life. I wrote before that I felt like I was in a season of preparation. In that season I was blessed so well, as God taught me more about who He is and what He wants for me.

And I knew that if God was preparing me for something, it followed that He would then supply the opportunities to move forward in my faith. So, I started praying that God would provide for and equip me in whatever He had planned for me.

And I now feel that I’ve begun to enter this new part of life. In many ways God has enlarged my territory, and I’m excited to see how He moves in this next season. But, as I’ve written before, it’s so easy for me to try to work in my own strength and to place a huge amount of pressure on myself to make things happen.

So this is where I have to rely on the third piece of Jabez’ prayer, that Your hand would be with me. I have to consistently humble myself and remember who it is that supplies my work.

Which brings me to the final portion of the prayer, that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain. Another translation reads that You would keep me from harm, that it may not pain me. Either way, this is a prayer of protection and security.

Honestly, I’ve never really felt like I’d experienced any kind of spiritual attack, until pretty recently. Right in the middle of my excitement at the future and my enthusiasm for what God has in store, I was hit with anxiety, doubts about making the right choices, and a crippling sense of shame. And none of this made sense – there was no real trigger for these feelings, but they were suddenly there, draining me of my joy.

After wrestling with this for a bit, I started to wonder about the source of my doubts.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the exact moment things become so promising is the exact moment that Satan wants to attack us and hold us back from God’s plans. If he can’t keep us from Jesus’ work of salvation in our lives, then his next best tactic is to keep us from living in the freedom and joy that this salvation brings.

And that’s exactly where I found myself – stripped of my security in Christ and back in a state of fear and shame.

I think Jabez knew about this when he prayed – he knew that if he was going to ask God for blessings, opportunities, and strength, that he would soon face attacks from those who oppose God’s plans. And that’s why he asked for protection.

Once I came to that realization, the truth became so much clearer. This sense of anxiety and discouragement was not from God, but was an obstacle designed to keep me from seeing what was from God. Instead of resting in God’s love for me and willingness to equip me, I was only seeing my own unworthiness and inadequacy. I’d fallen into the enemy’s trap.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” and that in response we need to “take up the full armor of God, so that [we] will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm”.

So, that’s what I’m going to do – I’m going to hand my struggles and doubts to the Lord, who is my strength and my protection. And by His power, I’m going to stand firm.

…………

I’m looking forward to this next stage in my life. And the reason I can look forward to it is because I can look backward and see that God’s hand has been with me all this time.

He’s been guiding me even when I don’t know what next step to take. He’s had patience with me when I’ve turned from Him. And He’s made His presence known to me in my hardest moments. So, I am assured that He will be with me in the future.

When Jabez prayed his prayer in sincerity to God, God granted him what he requested. And this knowledge leads me to confidently pray,

Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!

Related Scripture

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NKJV)

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ And God granted him what he requested.”

Ephesians 6:12-13 (NASB)

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 46:10 – Cease striving, and know that I am God. In reading it I am reminded of my place in the world. I am not God, nor should I try to be. There’s no point to trying to be in control in ways that only He is.

So often we get caught up in making things happen – finding the perfect school, the perfect job, the perfect spouse, and so on.

Our culture places such a high priority on individualism, tempting us to idolize the ability to succeed on our own through sheer willpower. This means that our lives are often characterized by drive, hard work, and…burnout. We feel that we can’t give ourselves a break or else we will fall behind.

I know I’m especially susceptible to putting so much value in my work and my future plans that I forget that I’m not even the one in charge.

And then when things don’t go well, when we face failure after failure and tragedy after tragedy, it can be devastating. These circumstances may be the result of our weaknesses or mistakes, or they may be completely outside of our control.

Either way, we know that at some point we will face disappointments and pain. And in those moments, we may be tempted to give up or to work even harder in our own effort. Both will only end in more frustration and heartbreak.

But this is not how it should be. In Matthew 11, Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This doesn’t mean that we will not suffer or face hardships, but that our relationship with God was designed to be a place of rest, not of fatigue.

I sometimes find myself feeling burdened by my faith as I work so hard to be worthy of God’s love, and I become burnt out by all that trying. But God does not tell us to be wearied by our faith; He tells us to find rest in Him.

When I cease all my striving and I look to God for rest, I let Him take over and shoulder my burdens. In those moments He reminds me that my worth is found in Him and that all the work I do must flow out of that truth, not the other way around. He renews my spirit and reenergizes me to live for Him. It’s only by resting in the Lord that I can find any sustainable measure of motivation.

If this is something you struggle with as well, join me in remembering not to make ourselves out to be more than we are; we’re only human and not capable of controlling our circumstances, regardless of how we would often like to be.

Thankfully, this means that we can let go and rest in the knowledge that we are not God – which releases us from the need to be perfect!

We can rejoice in the fact that our strength and hard work won’t cut it. We can stop worrying about whether or not we can handle life’s difficulties, because we already know that we can’t. But God can, and He will.

So let’s turn away from the tendency to doubt His ability to care for us, and choose instead to be still and rest in His arms, quieting our souls.

By humbling ourselves and recognizing our proper place, we can be secure both in what we do and who we are. It’s God who is working all things for good in our lives, not ourselves.

Related Scripture

Psalm 46:10

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Matthew 11:28

“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Isaiah 30:15

“In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.”

Psalm 37:23-34

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”