Reap What You Sow Mondays with Tony™: Stop Burying What God Gave You— The Gift You Keep Hiding Is Still a Seed

Jul 20

10 min read

There are people walking around with gifts they keep apologizing for, dreams they keep shrinking, visions they keep postponing, and callings they keep burying because they are afraid of what will happen if they finally take them seriously. They know there is more inside of them, but fear has taught them to play small. Disappointment has taught them to delay. Comparison has taught them to question whether what they carry is valuable. Past rejection has taught them to hide instead of plant.

But here is the truth: the gift you keep hiding is still a seed.

God did not place purpose in you so you could bury it under fear. He did not give you creativity, wisdom, compassion, leadership, discipline, testimony, talent, skill, vision, or spiritual insight so you could spend your life pretending it is not there. He did not bring you through storms, teach you lessons, sharpen your character, and open your eyes just for you to hide everything He developed in you.

Some people call it humility, but it is really fear. Some people call it waiting, but it is really avoidance. Some people call it being careful, but it is really insecurity. Some people call it “not the right time,” but deep down they know God has already been nudging them to move.

Reap What You Sow Mondays with Tony™ is about recognizing that every decision plants something. When you use what God gave you, you plant obedience. When you develop your gift, you plant stewardship. When you take the next step, you plant faith. But when you keep burying what God placed in your hands, you also plant something. You plant delay, regret, fear, and missed impact.

A Buried Gift Does Not Stop Being Valuable

One of the enemy’s favorite strategies is to convince gifted people that their gift does not matter. He does not always have to destroy the gift if he can convince the person to hide it. He does not always have to take away your voice if he can make you afraid to speak. He does not always have to steal your dream if he can make you feel unqualified to pursue it. He does not always have to stop your assignment if he can make you endlessly postpone it.

But a buried gift does not stop being valuable just because it is hidden.

A seed buried in the right way is planted for growth, but a seed buried in fear is trapped by neglect. There is a difference between preparation and procrastination. There is a difference between waiting on God and avoiding responsibility. There is a difference between being developed privately and refusing to move publicly when the time comes.

If God has given you something, it has purpose. It may need training, structure, discipline, correction, accountability, and maturity, but it still has purpose. The question is not whether the gift exists. The question is whether you will steward it faithfully.

The Servant Who Buried His Talent

Jesus tells a powerful parable in Matthew 25 about a man who entrusted talents to his servants. Two servants used what they were given and produced increase. But one servant, afraid of his master, buried his talent in the ground. When the master returned, the servant handed back exactly what he had been given, thinking preservation would be enough.

Matthew 25:25 (NKJV) says, “And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”

Those words reveal the issue. He was afraid, so he hid what was entrusted to him. He did not lose it. He did not spend it wildly. He did not throw it away. He simply buried it. Yet the master was not pleased, because the servant’s fear prevented fruitfulness.

This is sobering because many people think they are safe as long as they do not misuse the gift. But the parable shows us that refusing to use what has been entrusted to us is also a problem. God is not looking only for people who avoid obvious failure. He is looking for faithful stewards who are willing to produce fruit with what He placed in their hands.

Fear Can Sound Responsible

Fear does not always sound like panic. Sometimes fear sounds responsible, reasonable, and even spiritual. It says, “I’m just being careful.” It says, “I’ll start when I know more.” It says, “I don’t want to make a mistake.” It says, “Other people are better at this than I am.” It says, “I don’t want people to think I’m trying to be somebody.” It says, “Maybe this is not for me.”

There is wisdom in preparation. There is wisdom in seeking counsel. There is wisdom in developing your craft, counting the cost, and moving with prayer. But fear becomes dangerous when it uses the language of wisdom to keep you permanently inactive.

Second Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” A sound mind is not reckless, but it is also not paralyzed. A sound mind can prepare without hiding. A sound mind can use wisdom without surrendering to fear. A sound mind can acknowledge the risk and still obey God.

If fear is the main reason your gift is still buried, it is time to tell the truth about what has been holding you back.

Humility Is Not Hiding

Some people bury their gifts because they do not want to appear prideful. They think using what God gave them means they are being arrogant. They downplay their abilities, avoid opportunities, reject encouragement, and shrink from visibility because they have confused humility with hiding.

But humility is not pretending God did not give you anything.

Humility is recognizing that whatever you have came from God and must be used to honor Him. Humility does not bury the gift. Humility submits the gift. Humility does not deny the calling. Humility surrenders the calling. Humility does not shrink from service. Humility serves without making self the idol.

Romans 12:6 (NKJV) says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” That verse does not tell us to deny the gifts. It tells us to use them. Different gifts come by grace, and grace should lead us to faithful action, not false modesty.

If God gave you the ability to write, write. If He gave you the ability to encourage, encourage. If He gave you the ability to lead, lead. If He gave you the ability to teach, teach. If He gave you creativity, create. If He gave you a testimony, share it with wisdom. If He placed a vision in you, begin stewarding it.

The point is not to glorify yourself. The point is to stop burying what was meant to bless somebody else.

Your Gift Is Not Only About You

One reason hiding your gift is so dangerous is because your gift is not only about you. Someone else may need what God placed in your hands. Someone may need the book you have been delaying, the song you have been afraid to sing, the business you have been scared to start, the message you have been hesitant to share, the ministry you have been avoiding, the apology you have been postponing, or the testimony you keep talking yourself out of telling.

When you bury what God gave you, you may think you are only protecting yourself from rejection, criticism, or failure. But you may also be withholding something that could encourage, equip, inspire, help, heal, or strengthen someone else.

First Peter 4:10 (NKJV) says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” That verse reminds us that gifts are connected to service. We do not steward gifts only for self-expression. We steward them because God’s grace flows through them to bless others.

Your obedience may become someone else’s encouragement. Your courage may become someone else’s confirmation. Your testimony may become someone else’s reminder that survival is possible, healing is possible, and purpose is still alive.

Stop Waiting for Perfect Conditions

Another reason people bury their gifts is because they keep waiting for perfect conditions. They want perfect confidence, perfect timing, perfect resources, perfect support, perfect clarity, perfect health, perfect finances, and perfect circumstances before they move.

But perfect conditions rarely come.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NKJV) says, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” If you keep waiting for everything to feel ideal, you may never plant anything. There will always be a reason to wait. There will always be a cloud to study, a wind to worry about, a problem to consider, and an excuse that sounds reasonable.

Faith does not mean ignoring reality. Faith means trusting God enough to obey even when reality is not perfect. It means planting while you are still learning. It means starting while you are still growing. It means moving while you still need God’s help with every step.

You do not have to be perfect to be faithful. You do not have to have everything figured out to begin. You simply have to stop using imperfection as a shovel to keep burying your seed.

Development Is Part of Stewardship

Using your gift does not mean rushing into something unprepared. It means taking responsibility for what God gave you. If the gift is real, develop it. If the calling is real, mature into it. If the vision is real, build structure around it. If the dream is real, give it discipline. If the opportunity is real, prepare for it.

A gift without development can become frustrating. Talent without discipline can become inconsistent. Vision without structure can become overwhelming. Passion without wisdom can become reckless. That is why stewardship matters.

Proverbs 18:16 (NKJV) says, “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” But even when a gift makes room, character and discipline help you remain faithful in the room. Development protects the gift from being wasted. Preparation helps you carry what your gift may open.

So take the class. Write the pages. Practice the skill. Study the craft. Create the budget. Make the schedule. Ask for counsel. Build the plan. Get healthier. Strengthen your prayer life. Learn what you need to learn. Do not bury the gift, but do not neglect the process either.

Criticism Cannot Be Your Master

Many gifts stay buried because people are afraid of criticism. They fear what family will say, what friends will think, what strangers will comment, what critics will write, or what people will assume. Criticism is real, and sometimes it hurts deeply, especially when it comes from people who do not understand the cost of stepping out.

But criticism cannot be your master.

If every opinion has the power to stop you, your purpose will always be at the mercy of people who may not even be qualified to speak into it. You have to learn the difference between wise correction and empty criticism. Wise correction helps you grow. Empty criticism only tries to make you shrink.

Galatians 1:10 (NKJV) says, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men?” That question matters because purpose cannot survive if people-pleasing is always in control. You can receive correction, remain humble, learn from feedback, and still refuse to let fear of people bury what God gave you.

You do not need everyone’s approval to obey God.

Reap What You Sow With Your Gifts

Reap What You Sow Mondays with Tony™ reminds us that every seed produces something. The way you handle your gift is also seed.

If you sow fear, you may reap regret. If you sow delay, you may reap missed opportunities. If you sow comparison, you may reap insecurity. If you sow excuses, you may reap stagnation. But if you sow obedience, development, courage, discipline, and faith, you can reap growth, impact, maturity, opportunity, and purpose.

The harvest may not appear overnight. You may have to plant consistently. You may have to keep showing up when the results are small. You may have to serve in hidden places before public fruit appears. You may have to endure misunderstanding while God develops your endurance.

But planted gifts can grow. Buried gifts remain hidden. The choice is not whether the seed has value. The choice is whether you will plant it in faith or keep burying it in fear.

The Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™ Connection

In Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™, the battle against darkness requires more than survival. It requires people to recognize what has been placed inside of them and learn how to use it with courage, wisdom, and faith. Gifts, abilities, callings, and assignments must be developed because the mission is too important for fear to be in charge.

That is true in real life too.

A Soldier of Light Against Darkness™ cannot keep hiding in the shadows while carrying light that was meant to shine. The world is too dark for gifted people to keep pretending they have nothing to offer. Families need light. Communities need light. Readers need light. Children need light. Churches need light. Workplaces need light. The next generation needs light.

Your gift may not look like someone else’s, but it still matters. Your seed may not be the same size as someone else’s, but it still carries potential. Your calling may require development, but it still deserves obedience.

Dig It Up and Plant It

Maybe today is the day you stop burying what God gave you. Maybe today is the day you admit that fear has had too much influence. Maybe today is the day you stop calling hiding humility. Maybe today is the day you take one step toward developing the gift, pursuing the dream, sharing the testimony, building the vision, or obeying the instruction God has been placing on your heart.

You do not have to do everything at once. You do not have to announce everything publicly. You do not have to run ahead of God. But you do need to stop burying what He gave you.

Dig it up.
Pray over it.
Develop it.
Submit it to God.
Plant it with faith.
Water it with discipline.
Protect it with wisdom.
Then trust God with the harvest.

Call to Action: Use What God Placed in Your Hands

If this message challenged you, do not ignore it. Ask yourself what gift, dream, calling, or assignment you have been burying. Ask yourself what fear has been saying to you. Ask yourself what step of obedience you already know you need to take.

Then take the step.

And if you want to experience a story about faith, courage, spiritual warfare, purpose, gifts, and ordinary people learning how to stand strong against darkness, I invite you to step into Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™.

Order your autographed copies today:

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