You Have God-Given Gifts

Last week we talked about measuring whether or not we are operating in our gift and how sometimes our frustrations can be indicators.  There were points in my life where I KNOW that I wasn’t using my gifts, and I’m sure of that now because of the frustration that I was experiencing during those times.  I don’t think I fully comprehended that God has given me some gifts that He wants me to use in order to fulfill the calling and purpose that He has placed on my life.  If you are experiencing some frustrations in your job, career or role that you play, maybe you need to start focusing on the God-given gifts placed inside of you and determine if and how they fit into your current roles.  This starts with first and foremost recognizing that you ARE indeed gifted! 

I actually changed my major in college because of frustrations and not recognizing my gifts.  At the time, I didn’t even know that it had anything to do with my God-given gifts.  I just knew I was miserable in my classes and couldn’t imagine a life-long career doing something I hated.  I originally majored in Accounting and had imagined myself one day becoming a tax attorney.  Then I started taking some classes for Accounting.  I did well in them, but I absolutely HATED them.  They were so boring to me.  I didn’t enjoy working with numbers.  I much preferred writing papers to filling out a balance sheet.  There was so much paperwork and so little interaction with people.

After researching the career more, visiting with my professors and taking a few classes, I quickly realized that Accounting was not the path for me.  I knew it would not make me happy because I wouldn’t get to do the things I enjoyed most.  Those are the things that I now know as my God-given gifts.  Thankfully, my frustrations guided me away from a career that God never intended for me.  I think if I had known more about my God-given gifts I could have avoided some of that frustration, and I could have saved the time and money of taking classes I didn’t need!

I now know that God has given me gifts.  Every single person on this earth has a God-given set of gifts and abilities, even if they don’t recognize it yet.  YOU have a very specific set of gifts and talents that God placed inside of you before you were even born.  I remember in school they had special “GT” classes for “gifted and talented” students.  Really, in God’s perspective, every child and every person is gifted and talented.  God created us marvelous, wonderful and special.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT) 

I think we often recognize the God-given gifts of others, but when it comes to admitting that WE have a gift, we sometimes have difficulty either recognizing or acknowledging that.  Until we come to the realization that EVERY HUMAN BEING HAS A GIFT, especially ourselves, we will never be able to fully accomplish the plans that God has for us.

Take Some Practical Steps to Acknowledge That You Have God-Given Gifts:

• You need to realize that God HAS given each one of us certain gifts. This is mentioned several places in scripture.

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10, 11 (NLT)

 “…Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.” 1 Corinthians 7:7 (NLT)

 “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)

 “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Proverbs 18:16 (AMP)

SPECIFIC SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE

Romans 12

1 Corinthians 12

Ephesians 4

• Know that God doesn’t take back or withdraw the gifts and calling He’s given you. You will always have the God-given gifts that He has placed inside of you—even if you aren’t currently using them.

“For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]” Romans 11:29 (AMP)

• Use positive affirmations to help you get to a place of actually believing that you are gifted. You can even use scripture to do this, like below…

“I am gifted.  God has given ME a gift from his great variety of gifts!  I will use them well to serve others.” (1 Peter 4:10)

“I have a special gift from God.” (1 Corinthians 7:7)

“My gifts will make room for me and bring me before great people!” (Proverbs 18:16)

“God will never take away my gifts.” (Romans 11:29)

Now that you KNOW that you have God-given gifts, you just need to figure out what they are!  We’ll talk some more in future posts about how to discover your God-given gifts, and I’ll refer you to some additional helpful resources on your journey to discover them.

Why do you think it’s so hard for people to believe they have God-given gifts?  Leave a comment below (click on the post link to join the conversation if you’re viewing through e-mail).

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