Discovering our God-given gifts is crucial to being effective in what God wants us to do. We need to know the capacities that God has given us so that we can confidently take on the tasks that He has set for us.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that our God-given tasks are already waiting for us to do them:
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
If we want to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do, we've got to prepare for them.
And one of the ways to prepare is to know our gifts and use them well for God's glory.
Knowing your gifts
In this article we'll be talking about a few ways to discover our God-given gifts.
One crucial thing to note is that these gifts vary, but they're given by the same Spirit. Not everyone has the same gift, but since the same Holy Spirit is the One who distributes these gifts He can empower us to do God's will on earth without fail.
As such, don't be envious of another Christian's skills, talents, and gifts. We're all created uniquely, and our uniqueness gives glory to our Creator and allows us to meet the need of others.
And so without further ado, here are a few ways to discover your God-given gifts.
1) Trying it out
There's this thing called "potential." Many of us never get to realize the full potential that God has given us simply because we didn't try.
Athletes aren't born with firm muscles and iron lungs. They exercise, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and practice to be in tip-top shape.
The same goes for us.
We've got to try our hands at things we haven't tried. We've got to test the waters.
Think about this: How could Peter walk on water without actually stepping on it?
2) By evaluating ourselves honestly
After trying things out, we need to evaluate ourselves honestly:
Do we really have a gift in [insert skill, talent, or gift here]?
Many of us are so good at convincing ourselves that we are gifted with a certain skill when actually, we're not.
We've got to be honest. Romans 12:3 tells us that we should not think too highly of ourselves. We've got to recognize our limitations and not feel bad about it.
Accepting our limitations free us from the burden of trying to compete with others, and frees us to do what God has designed us for.
3) By asking for feedback from others
Lastly, it would be good to approach honest and trustworthy people and ask for their feedback about us.
Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
Many of us evaluate ourselves poorly. We don't like to think that we're not good at something, or that we're not gifted in some area we want to be gifted in. As such, we might be tempted to lie to ourselves.
Others, however, can see us better than we do. They can help us by giving us honest feedback regarding our character, our effectiveness in certain areas, and areas where we need improvements or areas where we're really not good at.
Let us not be afraid of asking for feedback from others. It will help us see where we're good at.
