Do you remember the Polaroid camera? The moment you took the picture there was an image on a grayish floppy photo. However, it took a while before the photo developed to the place where you could actually tell what it was. There was a wide range of theories on how to make them develop the quickest. Some theories said to hold the photo paper perfectly still, other theories said to shake it valiantly, others said to hold it upside down. No matter which method you employed, it still took a season for the film to develop. In the same way, you may not know exactly what God is doing in your life today, but you can be sure that He is developing a beautiful picture through your life.

1 Corinthians 12:6 says, “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”

Every believer has been imparted a spiritual gift from the Father. Those gifts may not be immediately discernable. These will require some development and some discipline to bring those gifts to the place of fruitfulness for the Kingdom. If you will commit yourself to allowing God to develop you, He will bring your giftedness to the surface.

Spiritual gifts are designed to flow outward. The primary purpose of spiritual gifts is not to build up the individual believer alone. The primary purpose of a spiritual gift is to build up the body of Christ.
If we neglect the development of our own spiritual gifting, we are not just robbing ourselves of the experiences God wants us to have, but we are also robbing others of the blessing we are designed to be. Like the undeveloped Polaroid, sometimes God shakes us and at other times He allows us to be perfectly still as part of His plan for developing the gift He has inside of us.

Today’s Challenge: No matter if life is completely calm or if things are shaky, remember that God can use all seasons to develop you. Your spiritual development is not just about you. There is a hurting world and a believing body that will benefit greatly from the gift God has placed in you. Pray today that God will reveal how your present circumstance can help bring His gifting to the surface.