• faith
  • life
  • motherhood
  • books
  • family
  • home
  • food
  • travel
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • blog
  • about
  • Beautycounter
  • podcast
  • design
chelsea eubank

chelsea eubank

stories + graces of everyday life with God

  • about
  • podcast
  • Design
  • Shop
  • clean beauty
  • contact

I’m An Exhorter.

07/13/2014 · In: faith

Happy Sunday!

This morning my dad gave out a spiritual gift test. I’ve taken a couple in my lifetime, different stages of life. It’s interesting that in high school, particular ones might have been low, whereas now they’re higher. Goes to show that if the desire is there, our faith grows as we grow.

Today, the two highest were exhortation and mercy, tied. The second was also a tie, between knowledge, wisdom, and faith.

Naturally, I googled exhortation to entirely understand.

ex·hor·ta·tion  – an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something. (urging, encouragement, persuasion, charge, appeal)

Characteristics
  • An exhorter’s basic motivational drive is to encourage believers to mature in Christ and to grow spiritually. Exhorters often seek to stimulate that development by teaching, counseling, and discipling others.
  • Exhorters regard trials as opportunities for growth.
  • Wise counsel flows from the heart of an exhorter who is able to skillfully identify precepts and principles in God’s Word.
  • Exhorters love to encourage, encourage, encourage!
  • Exhorters and mercy-givers make a good team for counseling someone who is discouraged. The person with the gift of mercy empathizes—he knows how the downhearted person feels. The exhorter exhorts—he knows how the person needsto feel!
  • The exhorter’s job is to give hope by sharing a Biblical perspective of the situation and reminding people of God’s power, love, and faithfulness.
  • An exhorter responds to problems by prescribing specific steps of action. His goal is to make the plan so easy to comprehend that people will understand it, see its potential, embrace it, and grow as a result of carrying it out.
An Exhorter’s Strengths
  • An exhorter uses Scripture to validate experience.
  • Exhorters are willing and eager to come alongside a brother or sister in Christ during difficult circumstances.
  • Memorization of, and meditation on, Scripture are usually very important to the exhorter, because he wants to be able to draw wisdom from the well of truth stored in his spirit.
  • An exhorter sees every little detail, including the timing of every event, as part of God’s good and loving plan.
  • Exhorters focus on balance; they avoid extremes, especially in doctrine.
  • Exhorters understand that time reading and studying the Word of God brings more than information; it brings transformation.

An Exhorter’s Weaknesses

  • Exhorters tend to need visible evidences of acceptance and affirmation.
  • They can easily oversimplify solutions, which ultimately results in discouragement rather than encouragement.
  • Surprisingly, exhorters can be poor listeners, even though they make excellent counselors. Sometimes they are so intent on telling you how to view your situation from God’s perspective that they fail to listen to your perspective.
  • Mature exhorters give wise counsel from the Word of God. Therefore, their counsel usually proves to be effective. Unfortunately, their success often tempts exhorters to promote principles as formulas, and the formulas as cure-alls.
  • Exhorters are often naïve and easily manipulated.

Even if they aren’t the most happy facts, I think it is extremely helpful to know about yourself. How you relate and perceive, your natural tendencies, your weaknesses. I relate to many of these bullet points, and with the weaknesses, I feel challenged to pray about them, to ask the Holy Spirit for extra self-awareness.

Those who stumble upon this, do you know what your spiritual gift is? Have you ever wondered what it was? I can give you a link to take one, just leave a comment.

By: Chelsea Eubank · In: faith

you’ll also love

Trying Softer
a sweet gift you can give God
I needed a new reason to exercise…
Next Post >

life lately, via iphone

Primary Sidebar

Search

I'm Chelsea... a wife, mom and friend passionate about cultivating a rich life with God.

This blog is equal parts family stories, faith reflections and creative delight.

I read a lot. I eat peanut butter every day. I like shopping secondhand. I love hosting people in our home.

Writing helps me pay attention, and paying attention keeps me grateful.

Glad you're here!

Series on the Blog

  • Reading and Listening
  • Current Read
  • Joy Triggers
  • Instagram Archives
  • Clothe Yourself With
  • Perspectives
  • Truth To Consider
  • grateful list
  • A Few Things

THE PODCAST

the email

archives

topics

abiding anna art & design beautycounter biblical truth birthdays body image books clothe yourself series crushing on current read faith family fear food goals God God's presence grace gratitude him holidays inspirational words Jesus joy triggers julia Kids learned life life with God love marriage me motherhood music photography prayer reading and listening recipes reflection simplicity social media spiritual growth travel wisdom

Footer

Listening

  • BEMA
  • Pray the Word
  • Church of the City
  • Elisabeth Elliot
  • Raising Boys and Girls

Reading

  • Jasmine Holmes
  • Henri Nouwen
  • Justin Earley
  • Helen Smallbone
  • Darrell Johnson

engaging the Church & kindling love for God one testimony at a time

Listen in as people just like you share about their life with God.

Check out my podcast!

Copyright © 2023 · Theme by 17th Avenue