“In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” (Romans 12:6a NLT)
How has the Lord wired you? What do you love to do? Hate to do? Do you enjoy being around people? Make instant friends? Love crowds – the more the merrier? Or do you prefer to be alone? Do projects on your own? Struggle in crowds, but find security being alone or maybe with a close friend? Are you a nerd? A jock? Love music? Hate to read? Love to dig into things and get to the root of the meaning of a Scripture or put things together with your hands? If you had to describe yourself in ten words or less, what would you say?
One thing to bear in mind, spiritual gifts and natural abilities are two separate things. For example, you may love to teach, but God may not call you to be a teacher of His Word. You may love to lead, but your spiritual gift may not be leadership. You may be outgoing, jovial, and love to be around people, but that may not necessarily reflect your spiritual gift.
So, how do you know what spiritual gift(s) you have? One of the resources that I used early on was a book by C. Peter Wagner entitled: Finding Your Spiritual Gifts. He also wrote: Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow. He lists several gifts and has a questionnaire you can take to get an idea of where your gifts might lie.
Depending on how long you’ve walked with the Lord, what your frame of reference is regarding church background, and other issues, I would recommend that you speak with your Pastor and get their recommendation as to how to pursue what gift or gifts you may or may not have.
Every believer has at least one spiritual gift, but most have more than one. But understand, knowing or having a good idea of what your spiritual gift(s) is/are is only the beginning. Test the proverbial “waters” when it comes to gifts. Don’t allow yourself to be pigeonholed because of your personality.
While it’s helpful to ask others who know you well what they think, it can also allow you to be pushed into an area where you don’t fit, or you just don’t like. Try many things on a volunteer basis. For example, rather than signing up to fill a position for a year, see if you can try it for a few weeks or a month. When it comes to your spiritual gifts, finding something you don’t like can be just as valuable as finding something you love.
Implicit in this whole process is laying yourself before the Lord and asking Him to guide you. No one knows you better or loves you more. Early on I sensed God’s call on my life to serve in full-time ministry, but it took years for me to find my “groove.” Even after retirement I’m continuing to discover ways the Lord can use me that I never considered while working in ministry as a Pastor.
For example, other than sermons, lessons, and things specific to what I “needed” to do, I didn’t take the time to write things like I get to explore in these blog posts. Neither did I have time to be involved in neighborhood ministry like I can now. The point being, regardless of where you are in terms of your age or stage of life, God has equipped you with gifts and abilities that are vital to where you are physically, spiritually, or otherwise.
If you have specific questions about any of this, please let me know. I’m not the proverbial “answer man,” but I may be able to point you in the right direction. I love that you’re reading my blog and I often thank the Lord for you and ask Him to lead you and enable you to sense His holy presence.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 