Threads of Gifts
Discovering God’s unique gifts for you
God has given you several gifts to help make Him known in the world. The Spirit has imparted gifts to each follower of Christ. This is what God promises in Scripture. Your spiritual gifts might be the same as the natural gifts you had before becoming a Christian. But you may have also been given new gifts by the Spirit when you got saved.
God knew before time who His children would be. So, He likely put things in you that you were just good at. Then, the Spirit comes and enhances that.
Sometimes we spend too much time trying to differentiate between our natural and spiritual gifts. But what makes your gifts spiritual is that you use them for the glory of God.
If you are an unbelievable cook, that may turn into a hospitality gift. I have known people who truly have a healing gift, and their ability to diagnose what is wrong is supernatural. Others have an incredible gift for leadership.
So, how are we supposed to find our gifts?
You’ll want to bump up against people who are good at noticing your gifts. One way to do that is in the church. The church constantly deploys people to use their gifts because everybody has to serve as part of the body of Christ. There's not a world where a member of a church wouldn't be using their gifts to serve and accomplish God’s purpose for their life.
In biblical times, people lived in a very communal setting. And so, noticing each other’s gifts was commonplace. People were using their gifts and enjoying them. People would become known for their gifts. The problem with our individualistic culture is that we don't always interact well enough to know what we're good at.
If you feel like you’ve never been praised for anything, sign up to serve somewhere with people, whether it’s at a food kitchen or your local church’s kindergarten class. You will notice what you love about it. Get into something that might make you uncomfortable. You'll begin to notice things about yourself, including things you didn't know you enjoyed before.
If you truly have no idea what you’re good at, I encourage you to throw a little game night with your friends next week. Host them and see if you like that. And if you hate it, move on. Start trying other things and finding new ways to serve. You will discover your gifts as you're serving.
Think back to how they were discovering their gifts in biblical times and make sure you're in communal settings like that. Make sure you have a small group of people who know you well. Tell each other stories about what God's doing in your lives because they are more likely to notice what you're good at than you are to notice it in yourself.
Our team created this free download to discover your gifts. Check it out here!
Beginning to practice your gifts
My gifting was made unmistakably clear through my local church.
I was communicating with teenagers about the love of God when a grown man walked up to me and told me I have a unique ability to express who God is to people. I was in my teen years when I heard that, and I've never forgotten it.
Having my gift reaffirmed by someone didn't mean I needed to go be a Bible teacher all of a sudden. It gave me confidence, and it grew a passion inside of me. I started communicating God’s love to others through Bible studies in college. They were cheesy and terribly titled, but I taught the Bible in my living room to whoever would come. That is using your gifts. You don't have to do it in some big, organized way.
For 15 years, I randomly emailed a few people asking if they would want to do a Bible study together. I would print pamphlets or paper with a notebook three-ring binder and charge $5 apiece because I didn't have any money. That was how I did Bible study for years, but I was using my gifts.
I bet there is more fruit in the generations to come from my living room Bible studies than my big stages. This is how Jesus did it. I mean, can you imagine all the people He was a carpenter for and the relationships they had with Him?
The power of serving in hidden spaces
We’ve got it in our head that using our gifts is all about singing, preaching, or doing something else that everybody sees because we often want to build names for ourselves.
However, serving in hidden spaces can have even more impact on the lives of others.
Serve places that nobody sees because what people see you do in public, you've already received your reward for. Whatever you do, Scripture says to do it with all your heart. Do it unto the Lord. Don't overthink it; just serve somewhere. There'll be a sense of delight that rises in some aspect of what you do.
Serve in the church because God’s spiritual gifts are for building the body.
That means those gifts will best express themselves as part of a committed local church. I would rather be teaching 100 women at my local church than a million in the world because I get to watch their lives change. It is more rewarding to use your gifts in a local context.
Your heart sings when people's lives change. Your heart is alive because you're doing what God made you for. I want that for you. I want your heart to sing and for you to see people's lives change. So, whatever you might be good at, go for it. See the list of ministries your local church has. Ask how you can help; a church will always have a place for you to help.
Don’t ever let fear stop you
I know this is a risk for many people. You may be scared that you won't be good at anything. Or maybe you know what you're good at and you've had zero opportunities in the church. That was me for a long time. I knew I had the gift of communication, but I never could do it through the church because they had nowhere to use my gift.
I opened up my living room and started a bible study. So, find a way to use your gifts. It can be complicated, but it's the enemy that likes to make it complicated for us. It also can be simple. It can be you trying something new, falling in love with it, and giving the next 30 or more years of your life to it.
Today, I want you to write what you think you're good at. You don’t have to be great at it yet. Where do you feel the pleasure of God the most? Your answer to that question will help you find your gifts. You can even look back at things that brought you joy in childhood.
What you do today could be a complete extension of what you loved as a child. So, look back to your childhood and search for all the things you loved doing before judgment, doubt, and insecurities complicated everything. What did you love about those things?
As you start to untangle your threads, I pray that God gives you insight into each of these little things. I pray that He shows you your gifts and all the little sparks He has planted in your story. I pray that He helps you use all of them to build His kingdom, in Jesus’ name, amen.
MADE FOR THIS PODCAST
If you liked this content, you’ll love this season of the Made For This Podcast where we’ve been going through Jennie’s book Restless. Available anywhere books are sold!
