This is my gift to You, Jesus. I give You ME! My life, my thoughts, 24/7, every beat of my heart, my skill, my talent, my good and my bad, my strengths and my weaknesses, I give to You now.
Our prayer is changing us, Superkid! “Jesus, I give You my talent.” What does that mean? A talent is a natural ability that makes it easier to succeed in an area such as athletics, the arts or sciences. Your talent is a gift from the Father. Why should you give it back? Someone said, “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it, is your gift back to God.”
Talent Is a Gift From God
Daniel 1 tells the story of four amazing young men of God, taken as prisoners from the royal and noble families of Judah when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem. The king had them brought to the palace, where Daniel and his friends were given Babylonian names—Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were chosen because they were strong, healthy, smart and educated, TALENTED and GIFTED with knowledge and good judgment. These young men stood out from the rest of the captives. Because they gave their lives and abilities to God, He increased their talent for understanding and wisdom. God also gave Daniel the ability to tell people the meaning of their dreams and visions! They were 10 times more capable than all the wise men in the kingdom!
Even though they were the king’s slaves, Daniel and his friends knew they really belonged to God! When we acknowledge Him, He can cause us to stand out too. James 1:17-18 in The Passion Translation says, “Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change. God was delighted to give us birth by the truth of his infallible Word so that we would fulfill his chosen destiny for us and become the favorite ones out of all his creation!”
God has gifted you with a talent for a purpose.
Talent With a Purpose
“Every gift God freely gives us….” We talked about the gifts, now let’s talk about the whys. This says, “to give us birth by the truth of his infallible Word.” God spoke the Word to create the universe, and to create you! You were not an accident, but a well-planned-out person with a destiny, “so that we would fulfill his chosen destiny for us and become the favorite ones out of all his creation!”
Connect that with the verses we looked at last month (Psalm 139:13-16, New Living Translation). God wrote every moment of your life, and then He created you with all the right ingredients—talents, personality and gifts—to make those moments happen…to enable you to DO what He created you to DO!
“…and become the favorite ones out of all his creation.” He wants you to be His favorite, and for others to see Him in you, and to know they can be His favorite too!
When we serve God with our talents, we can affect those around us like Daniel and his friends did. Throughout every story in Daniel, God showed the kings that He Himself is the great ruler. Every time those young men were challenged to give their loyalty to the king, they stayed faithful to serve God first. This allowed God to use their talents to help the king!
Don’t Use Your Talent Selfishly
Daniel (Belteshazzar), Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego outlived several kings! Because these young men served only God with their gifts, God turned the hearts of the kings toward Him and blessed them, as long as they honored Him as Almighty God.
Daniel and his friends didn’t become prideful but served God with their talents. When people become prideful, pointing to themselves and not to God, He cannot bless them.
Romans 12:1-3, NLT, says:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Verse 6 says, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.”
In The Message Bible, “…go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you” (Philippians 2:13-15, NLT).
Jesus is NOT criticizing you, He created you! He knows how to help you “live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (verse 15, NLT).
Shine, Superkid, Shine!
Lastly, realize you were MADE to SHINE! Matthew 5:14-15 (NLT), “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”
“So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven” (verse 16, TPT).
Daniel and his friends didn’t hide their abilities, and neither should you! God made you with special care because He wants you to let Him shine. When you give your talent to Him, He uses it to open doors so you can bless others, and He opens doors for you! So, it blesses Jesus, others and you!
So, let that talent shine brightly for Jesus, Superkid! ♥
Commander Kellie