“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17 NIV.

If you were given every talent and ability in the world, would you even consider asking God which to choose? Perhaps you’d plow ahead, doing whatever you wanted, or maybe you’d do something different every day depending on your mood.

Your limitations can be a part of God’s narrowing or the way He hems you in.

When you know you don’t have a specific gift or ability, that God has NOT enabled you to do a certain task, you know it’s not for you and your path becomes narrower.

Perhaps He’s made it clear what your gift is, but the joy in knowing is short-lived because you start to nitpick it apart or compare it to other gifts, wondering why yours is so different.

Or maybe you feel overwhelmed and under-prepared like you’re a tiny fish in a great big pond that keeps getting shoved aside or overlooked.

Oh, precious soul. You may feel invisible, even insignificant to the world, but God sees you. And He’s blessed you with a gift (maybe more than one!) for a reason – He wants to use YOU as you use the GIFT He’s given you to further His Kingdom and to bring Him honor and glory.

What a blessing indeed!

But it doesn’t stop there. When you use your gift, it shines the spotlight on God, the Creator and Giver of every good and perfect gift, and it draws others to Him.

And YOU become closer to God, deeply connected to Him in an intimate way because of the gift. You’re not consumed by the gift itself, trying to figure it out or make it work, but you’re drawn closer to the One who loves you and knows you – the One who knitted you in your mother’s womb and created you with a plan and purpose in mind.

And so, God narrows your path again, removing the comparable parts of your gift, helping you to clearly see the borderlines defined for you – those you are to stay within as a part of His plan for your life.

The more you surrender your gift to Him, the more He prunes those branches that are only taking your time and energy away from what He wants you to do. What He allows to remain may not seem like much, but it is always enough. Trust His hand to do the pruning.

Oh, precious soul. Stay close to your Heavenly Father as you discover and use the gift He’s given you while you walk the narrow road on your way home, shining His light for all to see.