Use Your Gift Don’t Lose It

1 of 5 series

When I received God as my personal Savior, He blessed me with a gift of understanding, interpreting, and memorizing His Word. I was a novice who stayed in the Word. I extraordinarily grasp its meaning. I was able to explain it to other Saints who were having trouble comprehending the scripture. I was full of joy and excitement about God. Others saw God’s light all over me. I was winning souls to Christ, starting in my home, my mom, and my sister.

I got bold and started hanging out with old friends, trying to win them to Christ. Sometimes it turned into arguments or people laughing or mocking God. I continued to place myself around them, thinking I know I can do this. I can win them to Christ. As time went on, my testimony began to waver. Subtly, I moved back into old habits of the flesh. Things started to change. Instead of me winning my old friends to Christ, I allowed them to draw me back to the world. My desires changed to lusting the things of the world. I turned from the joy of the Lord to be a friend of Satan.

Life lesson, do not take your eyes off of Christ. Remain focused. When giving testimony or witness is not received, walk away and don’t return, especially when God is mocked. The scriptures state, “Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.” — Matthew 10:14″, meaning the uncleanness of one’s feet. It was a sign of the rejection of God’s Word. Please do not be puffed up with pride thinking you can handle anything. It is a lie of Satan.

If you walk away from your spiritual gift, it will be difficult to start again. Use it or lose it. When I came back from a backsliding state, my spiritual gifts were dull, definitely not the same. It came back, but quite frankly, it has not been the same as when I first started. I regret the wasted time when I could have been ministering and growing in Christ.

Stay with your Christian friends and family. Be accountable to other believers. Avoid going back to worldly friends. Don’t spend time on things, habits, and unhealthy relationships that don’t allow you to grow.

Stay humble. Don’t think too highly of yourself. I thought I could take on the task of hanging out with old worldly friends and win them to Christ. Satan is subtle. As I continued to keep company with sinners, I lost the battle. I was enticed, I acted on it, and I was back in the game again, the world.