Daily Devotional – Sunday, October 18, 2026
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
1 Timothy 4:14 (NKJV)
Timothy was a young leader with immense responsibilities. As a church minister, he was supposed to feed the flock and become a role model to his followers. His tender age was likely to attract doubt and undermining from some of the people he led. That explains Apostle Paul’s call to Timothy to use his God-given gifts and serve without fear.
The Gift You Cannot Afford to Neglect
It was difficult to manage a church for a young person. Some of the members of the congregation were likely to undermine the authority of Timothy. Paul wanted Timothy to avoid succumbing to the opinions of naysayers. Instead, the young pastor was to let people see his faith in the way he spoke, behaved, loved others, and lived. People needed to see the difference his faith made in the way he lived and carried out his ministry.
Paul’s warning about neglecting the gift was not a general call to discover personal talents. Timothy had received a gift for ministry, and the elders recognised it through prophetic words and the laying on of hands. That gift came with a responsibility to teach and serve the church. As the next verses show, he was expected to keep working at it rather than to assume that receiving the gift was enough.
Are You Overlooking Something God Gave You?
It is possible to begin a task with genuine commitment and gradually lose interest in it. We get exhausted, become distracted, or feel that our efforts are not making much difference. Before long, we are giving less time to something that once mattered to us. The same can happen in our service to God. We may still want to help, yet we keep postponing the very things through which we could make a difference.
Is there something you once did faithfully that you have now put aside? Perhaps you have stopped encouraging someone, neglected a responsibility in church, or no longer use an ability that could help others. Think about what has changed and what you can do about it. Please select one gift you have neglected and consider returning to it today. You don’t have to do everything at once, but you need to begin.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, show me where I have neglected what You have entrusted to me. Help me make good use of my gifts and use them to bless others.
