(1 Cor 12:28) And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Have you ever wondered what your spiritual gift was and just never could figure it out? Not one thing came to your mind, so you finally resigned yourself to just loving Jesus and helping out wherever you could. Others seemed to know what their gifts were but that was never a luxury for you. You just said the prayer, “Use me, Lord” and went on with your life. Guess what? You probably have the gift of helps.
The gift of helps in the Bible means to lay hold of something and to provide relief or aid. Those with this gift love to serve behind the scenes and become nervous when put out in front of people. They prefer to assist instead of being in charge. They enjoy freeing up others to do what God has called them to do. They would rather take orders than to give orders. They love to give credit and never take credit. This gift is usually accompanied with an attitude of humility and sacrifice and going the extra mile. These people tend to demonstrate a servant attitude, loyalty, attention to detail, and responsiveness to the initiatives of others.
Behind every leader are those with the gift of helps. Leaders are usually overwhelmed by their workload and are very grateful for assistants in the work. They are an answer to prayer. (Mat 9:37-38) Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
In Romans 16 the apostle Paul mentions thirty-five persons by name. Most of these individuals are not named anywhere else in the New Testament. They are the nobodies of this world and they represent the vast majority of the population. But the humble are very important to God. The world’s zeros are in reality God’s heroes. Many of these mentioned by Paul quietly served in the background. Here’s just two: (Rom 16:12) Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord . . . Have you ever heard of Tryphena and Tryphosa? Sounds like they liked to TRY anything in serving the Lord. Just think of it . . . they silently assisted behind the scenes, but God recorded their names for all of eternity.
I can’t tell you how many times someone has come up to me and said, “Pastor Louie, I don’t really know what my spiritual gift is or what needs to be done around the church. But if you need any help at any time, I am here for you so please let me know.” I just chuckle inside because I recognize the gift of helps in this person. And then I thank God because I know I could not do what I do if it wasn’t for many with this beautiful gift.
“Lord, thank You for those with the gift of helps. Let them know how appreciated they are!”
Louie