Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 139:14; Mark 25:14,15

You may think to yourself, as I have often thought, Yes, I know God has given talents to those who are famous and successful, but what about me?It’s easy to believe that only a select few are gifted in life. But I’ve come to realize the truth that there are special talents inside each one of us — and that includes YOU! Those talents may not be developed, embraced, or appreciated, but Psalm 139:14 says we are each fearfully and wonderfully made.

In other words, it was a wonderful act of God to create you! There are gifts that have been placed within you simply because you were made by God in His image. You may not be developing your God-given gifts yet, but they are still a part of you, just waiting to be used!

Let’s look at Matthew 25:14,15, which says, “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”

In this parable, we can see that each servant received something. Although the amounts differed (five talents, two talents, and one talent), it says that everyone received according to his “several ability,” or his own individual ability. That means that along with the talent, or talents, each servant received, he also received the ability to use or develop what he was given to its fullest potential. Subscribe to Denise’s 28-Day Journey Email Devotionals! I want you to see two things in this parable: 1) Everyone received a gift, and 2) everyone received a gift according to his ability. In other words, what if the man who had the ability to carry one gift was given five? It would have brought destruction to him because he wouldn’t have been able to handle it; he would have certainly failed. Similarly, if the man with the ability to carry five gifts was only given one, this could have caused harm as well because he would have no doubt been under-challenged and completely frustrated. Neither scenario would have been just, and we know that God is just.

The bottom line is this: We can be assured that however many God-given talents we possess (and we each have a gift), God has also given us the ability to maximize their potential! God is the giver of talents and gifts. It’s our responsibility to manage and steward what He has given us. He will help us!

Please let us know how we can pray for you. If you haven’t already discovered and begun using your God-give talents, I pray that those talents will be unearthed and realized in you so that you can begin investing them in God’s Kingdom for the blessing and benefit of others.

In His great love,

Denise Renner

Denise Renner