The New Testament never once warns us that humbly seeking and praying for spiritual gifts will bring anything other than a blessing.

Where there is no fruit, there may be no root.

Sometimes people base their identity on their gifting. But our identity is in Christ and ultimately has no relation to whatever gift the Spirit may have granted to us.

Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God.

The New Testament never once warns us that humbly seeking and praying for spiritual gifts will bring anything other than a blessing.

God has sovereignly pulled back the curtain on His glory. He has disclosed Himself on the platform of both creation and redemption that we might stand awestruck in His presence, beholding the sweet symmetry of His attributes, pondering the unfathomable depths of His greatness, baffled by the wisdom of His deeds and the limitless extent of His goodness. This is His beauty.

To say that worship is either about glorifying God or finding personal satisfaction is to put asunder what God has joined together. His glory and your gladness are not separate tracks moving in opposite directions. Rather His glory is in your gladness in Him.