Women's Devotional
1Timothy 4:14 "Do not neglect the gift you have..."
In the early 60's, Nigeria was the largest producer of palm oil. Today Malaysia and Indonesia are the largest producers contributing about 80% to global supply while Nigeria only 2% says a PWC report. How did this happen? Negligence!
"If Nigeria had maintained its market dominance in the palm oil industry, the country would have been earning approximately $20 billion annually from cultivation and processing of palm oil as at today", the report says.
This is our potential but negligence won't let us be...
While she did, she met the inquisitive gaze of a passerby. A few minutes later, she came back to get something outside her compound and found that the passerby and a scrap collector were haggling over the price of the scraps she had just thrown away.
The price for which the scraps were sold left her mouth wide open. She couldn't believe that she hadn't had a meal from the previous day because of a lack of cash and she had a solution all along but couldn't see it.
Like the woman in this story, how often do we commonise what we have--our gifts and innate abilities. We look at the things that we have and treat them like the scraps--we throw them away! And our lives are no better for it. We want something that is outside of us to help us do well in life. If we turn to the things we were not created for, life will be a constant struggle. An Albert Eistein quote says a fish may live all its life thinking it is stupid if it keeps being judged by its ability to climb a tree. He adds (paraphrasing): everyone is a genius when you do life from the place of your natural habitat and not outside of it
Your gliding through life is dependent on if you follow your talents and abilities. You don't only get to prosper, you get fulfillment and make maximum impact because you are operating from your place of strength.
Often the gifts we have may look like scraps, but when honed and developed their beauty will shine through. A diamond doesn't look like
one when it's first mined, until it's worked on.
Today, make up your mind not to look down on your gifts, talents, God given abilities or aptitude because therein lies the power to change your life and that of others. When we value them and put them to use, we will profit because they were given to us by God for us to profit.
Our scripture reminds us today that our gifts matter and we need to put them to work to make a difference not just in our lives but in the lives of others.
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Women's Devotional
your gifts matter