Daily Bible Devotional: Commentary on 2 Corinthians 13

2 Corinthians 13:10-12 “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

I have been blessed with many talents. Often I have people say to me: “I wish I could do that” or “I could never do that, I wish I had the talents you have”. But what most people don’t stop to realize is that each one of us has been blessed with different type of talents. Sometimes we just don’t know what they are. Although it kind of hurts for me to hear people say they have no talents, God always uses me at this exact moment to remind them that they do. God wants us to actively encourage one another to be the best we can be.

Thanks to attentive parents that saw I had a creative soul very early on in life, I was always encouraged to draw, paint and doodle. And, most importantly, how to read. I developed a great love of reading at an early age and it continues to this day. In fact, being encouraged to read is what also encouraged me to write. Not all people have someone to encourage them though, and I see a lot of talented people let their talents go to waste – or worse yet – they don’t have enough confidence to learn or believe that they even have any talents.

To people who say things to me about not having talent, I always try to encourage them. I tell them yes, I may have this or that that talent, but did you know that God has given you talents too? Sometimes they look at me in surprise, unbelieving that this could be true. But it is!

God says in Genesis 1:26-28: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” That means that He not only gave us unique gifts and abilities, but even created us to be like Him. He has created each of us so uniquely that we don’t even share the same fingerprint. Imagine that! It only stands to reason than that if we are that unique in Gods eyes, that He has also given each and every one of us our own unique talents too. If someone puts you down and says you are worthless, they are lying because God has created you to be a unique and gifted creature of his own design. If you doubt yourself remember that unique fingerprint that God has designed you with. No one else has that fingerprint that you have. No One!

Finding the confidence that God has created us with our design sometimes takes years though. Sadly, some people never come to their full potential in Gods eyes. I may me good at writing and art, but I am not good at finances or organizing. I guarantee though there are people that are good at both those things and many more.

Wondering what your talents might be? Look at those things that inspire you, move you and the things that you have a passion for. There are even “spiritual gift tests” that you can take to find out what your spiritual gifts are (mine are administration, craftsmanship and wisdom – not in that order)

Something to think about: Is there someone in your life that needs some encouragement? Did you know that you may be the only person that may offer them that? Encourage someone today and find yourself being encouraged at the same time. You never know how a few kinds words could impact someones life.

Coming soon: My new 365 day devotional

This is just one devotional in a series of 365 devotionals that will one day be a book - both in hard cover and for the Kindle. All the text in this is my own (except of course for the Bible scriptures) I will be using the NIV (New International Version) for most of my reference to scripture. All the photos used will also be my own photography. If you would like to see more of my art and photography you can also visit me at www. dorsidiaz.com where I will also be chronicling this new book, along with my ideas for writing, marketing and creating e-books for aspiring writers. Thank you for reading!