Hindrances to Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts are divine endowments given by God to believers, empowering them to serve and fulfill their God-given purposes. These gifts are meant to build up the body of Christ and manifest God’s grace in various forms. However, many Christians struggle to fully utilize their spiritual gifts due to several common hindrances. Rev. Paul Lawler, explores four major obstacles that can impede the effective use of spiritual gifts: ignorance, time management, lack of a humble perspective, and timidity. By understanding and overcoming these hindrances, believers can more fully engage in their spiritual callings and contribute to the growth of God’s kingdom.
The following is taken from an article you can read HERE.
Ignorance
One day, we will stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives, and we’ll be asked, what did you do with what God entrusted you (2 Timothy 1:12)? So, as a believer, you must know what your spiritual gifts are. This enables you to take your first step and activate an understanding of the richness that God has entrusted to you.
Time
The second hindrance is our understanding of the stewardship of our time. We’ve all been gifted with the same amount of time. No one’s day or calendar contains more or less time than anyone else’s. It matters how we schedule our time to be faithful to what God has entrusted us.
For those in Western culture, we live under the tyranny of urgency, which leads to a failure to segment time for honoring and serving God.
Lack of Humble Perspective
For many believers, the lack of a humble perspective hinders the use of the gifts God has entrusted to them. Have you ever thought, “Well, I’m not Billy Graham, so I’m not even going try.” That doesn’t apply to everyone, but can we address how nonsensical that is? That’s like saying I won’t jog for my health if I can’t win the Boston Marathon.
Most ministry and the utilization of our gifts happen in the ordinary. We’ll see the fruition of our gifts within the day-to-day.
Timidity
“Can I rise to what God has gifted me to do?” This was young Timothy’s problem when Paul wrote to him, saying, “Timothy, you have gifts. Fan them into flame!” Timothy was fearful, and Paul’s encouragement was to let those giftings awaken within and rise. God did not give us the spirit that would cause us to be timid or fearful. He has given us the spirit of power, love, and sound judgement (2 Timothy 1:7).
Dr. Dike’s Conclusion
Understanding and overcoming the hindrances to utilizing spiritual gifts is crucial for every believer who desires to fulfill God’s purpose in their lives. Ignorance, poor time management, lack of humility, and timidity are significant barriers to experiencing and fully deploying our spiritual gifts. By addressing these issues, we can activate the richness of the gifts God has given us, manage our time wisely, adopt a humble and realistic perspective, and boldly step into our divine callings. As we strive to overcome these obstacles, we draw closer to living out the fullness of what God has planned for us, ultimately enhancing our spiritual journey and the collective strength of the church.
Dr. Christie Dike, retired, is an active member of Pathway Community Church’s Thrive Ministry in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is blessed with a surviving son, Roy Dike, and has spent her professional life teaching in higher education.