A few years ago I found myself sitting in a grocery store’s restaurant at 5:30 a.m., eating breakfast and talking to my good friend about my latest crisis. It had nothing to do with drug addiction or anger. Instead, it was because of a sermon. I didn’t know my spiritual gift, and I was losing sleep because I was convinced it meant I wasn’t walking in obedience.
Gifts are from God
Perhaps reading that sounds silly. Writing it now certainly feels that way. However, I imagine many people find themselves in a similar situation, whether outright panicking or quietly dealing with discouragement.
And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
Throughout the New Testament, God is quite clear that we all have a spiritual gift. Some were supernatural for that time, others like prayer or encouragement are more subtle. Yet it seems to be inescapable that God gives us each at least one gift.
Gifts aren’t about us
When we think of gifts, we often make it about ourselves. We want to know what we are good at. We want to have talent that is on par with our favorite pastor’s ability to teach, or a pianist’s ability to play beautiful music. Even if we don’t want to admit it, we often want to use our gifts to demonstrate ourselves to others.
To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
Christianity has always been others-focused. Our talents aren’t mean to highlight our individual worth – we are merely the instruments of our savior used to serve His people. So when we consider our talents, the question isn’t “What do I do well?” but “How can I best serve others with what God has given me?”
And that’s where my panic set in. I didn’t see any noteworthy talents I could use to serve Christ’s people. I didn’t know enough to teach, I didn’t feel like I was an evangelist, I was too introverted to be encouraging, I barely prayed for myself as it was… I wanted a gift, but I didn’t see myself in anything listed in the Bible. And if I’m honest, I really didn’t want to settle for something “dull” like giving or hospitality.
Gifts come through obedience
The end result of my early-morning wasn’t quite what I’d hoped, yet it was what I needed. I realized my emphasis was in the wrong direction. I thought I couldn’t be obedient and serve others until I knew my gift. I was willing to wait around until a lightning bolt of inspiration hit, and I was panicking because I felt like I couldn’t serve until then.\
Yet the fact is that we don’t always know our gifts, at least not immediately. Sometimes they are natural to us, or sometimes they become developed like any other spiritual discipline. I felt like I couldn’t do things because I didn’t feel gifted in them, yet so many spiritual gifts are things I should be doing anyway. Ignoring the supernatural gifts of the time, consider the various gifts listed throughout scripture:
- Serving
- Teaching
- Encouragement/exhortation
- Giving
- Leadership
- Mercy
- Words of wisdom and knowledge
- Faith
- Discernment (distinguishing between spirits)
- Administration
All of these are things we should all strive for. Someone without the gift of serving isn’t off the hook for serving, they just may not be called to serve in larger ways. Likewise, someone without the gift of mercy doesn’t get to go through life saying “I can’t help being mean or unforgiving, I just don’t have the gift of mercy.”
Each of these is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Some may be naturally developed, others may be ways God will use us to most serve His church. Though many may not be how we’re called to serve, they’re still the result of spiritual growth and obedience. Consider the less-than-exciting ways we can each use these gifts today
- Serving by helping a single mother with her kids during service
- Teaching and discipling new Christians, or our families
- Encouragement of those who are hurting, even if it only means they know someone cares
- Giving not just money to those in need, but also giving our time to help them fix their roof, or bringing them food if they’re sick
- Leadership within the home, with our friends, or in smaller ministries within the church
- Mercy not just to those who wrong us, but those who need a reminder that God forgives them for their sin
- Words of wisdom and knowledge, no matter how limited we feel our wisdom and knowledge may be
- Faith, not only for ourselves but as an encouragement to those around us
- Discernment so that we, and those we love, won’t be led astray by false teachers
- Administration, as a result of self-control, creates order and peace for us and those we interact with
And spiritual gifts aren’t limited to what’s listed in the Bible! Although most gifts fall under those categories, our individual gifts are usually based on our setting. Paul never talks about building a church website or working sound during a sermon, yet those are definitely ways God uses our talents to serve. Sending an encouraging text, anonymously donating an appliance, or bringing food to your community group wasn’t a thing 2,000 years ago, yet those are great ways to serve others.
I had it wrong all along. God didn’t want me to sit on the sidelines until He called me to serve. He called me to walk in obedience, and through that He would mature some gifts more than others. Yet even in that, I can’t neglect certain gifts just because I don’t feel naturally gifted at them. Indeed, the gifts I struggle with most are the ways God can be most glorified!
No gift? No problem!
It can be discouraging to see others with such obvious gifts while we feel completely mediocre. Yet God doesn’t call all of us to stand and preach or to be so encouraging that people remember our words for years to come. However, He does call all of us to obedience, and through that faithfulness we serve others in ways we may never realize.
If you’re like I was, feeling stuck because you don’t feel that special pull toward a particular gift, I hope my own misunderstanding has been of some help. Simply being faithful to God may not be as glamorous as we like, and we may feel frustrated because we want to have a grand epiphany where God lays out a clear path for us. However, let us never hesitate to love and serve others!
God may quickly show us our gifts. He may wait years to do it. Yet whether we know our gifts or not, our need to serve our brothers and sisters remains the same. If our aim is to be obedient, both in areas where we excel and where we have to rely 100% on His grace, then our faithfulness and obedience can only end with God receiving glory!
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
