What could be more amazing and precious than discovering that we have been given spiritual gifts!
Not a bicycle.
Not candy.
Not a cool sports car.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS from GOD!!
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 (TLB)
And if you want to get an even bigger smile on your face, read that same scripture from The Message Bible:
Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! 1 Peter 4:10
You’re smiling aren’t you. I know I am. In fact, think I want to EAT that scripture like a yummy dessert!
So, knowing that God has given you spiritual gifts should set you on a determined path of discovery that doesn’t end until you find the treasure—the gifts.
Your spiritual gifts are an important part of how and where you bloom.
Understanding your gift(s) will help you use your time and energy more effectively by enabling you to focus on the things you have been equipped to do well and letting other parts of “The Body” work/minister in those areas you are not as good at. Just common sense, right?
And this obviously applies to our God-given natural gifts as well. Perhaps that is easier for us to understand, but the principles and wisdom apply for spiritual gifts too.
Everyone has been given different gifts.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8
So, what exactly is a spiritual gift? It is a God-given special ability, given to every believer in Christ, to share His Love and to strengthen the Body of Christ.
When we are serving others by using our spiritual gifts, we have joy, meaning, and purpose that is sustainable.
When we try to force ourselves into a slot, a place where we don’t belong—where we simply do not fit—that is when we feel stuck and miserable.
But operating in our God-given gifts—natural and spiritual—is when we become joyfully free in our serving. It often doesn’t even feel like serving. We’re just being “who we are.”
So rather than constantly trying to make ourselves be something we are not, we can save a lot of time and heartache by determining as best as we can how God created us from the get-go.
I found a test online that you can take to discover your spiritual gifts. It’s free. When you get on this website, you will be asked to register. I have done this and haven’t received any emails from them that I know of. (Even in junk mail.) The spiritual gift test is free, as I said. They also have a personality test that they are charging $20 to take. I haven’t taken that test. They have changed how they present all of this, but this is how it is as of May 2022.
Here is the link: http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/test/adult
My top three gifts were mercy, exhortation, and teaching.
Notice that I said “top three.” You will see that you probably had points in every category of the gifts so there will obviously be times in your life when you will tap into your less prominent gifts.
So, armed with this information, you will know better how to serve others—where you fit in the Body of Christ (Believers in Him).
And the service will (and should) be done humbly because the gifts are not due to any great things you have done. You didn’t create your gifts. They were given to you by God. So how could you, or any one of us, boast?
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:3-5
I think it is important to emphasize that these God-given gifts are to be used IN GOD’S LOVE to serve others. Love empowers the gifts. Using them to benefit your self is a misuse of them.
{ But do know that you WILL automatically benefit in a multitude of ways when you use the gifts correctly. It’s the bonus we get! }
Also, remember to avoid comparison of your gifts with others. This can cause strife, envy, jealousy, and confusion—especially when we compare with someone who has a more high-profile visible gift in operation.
Comparison can also tempt us to try to be something we’re not. When we attempt to minister to people differently than how we are wired, it will feel awkward and inauthentic, which will be sensed by those we are ministering to. And it can be especially awkward when we are trying to excel in something we simply are not very good at.
No gift, no member of His body, is of lesser importance. Every single person and every single gift is needed to keep the body functioning and moving properly.
Below are very important scriptures to read and ponder in regard to this. And, I remind you that this is a study lesson (not just something entertaining to read) so please don’t quickly scan it. God’s Word is alive with just what we need to hear. When we read His Word, we grow and change. It’s food for our spirit.
I chose The Message Bible here because even if you are completely familiar with this portion of scripture, I promise that this translation will make it all seem new…and very FUN to read!
I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.
If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so?
If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body?
If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance.
For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of.
An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place.
No part is important on its own.
Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”?
As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything.
1 Corinthians 12: 14-27 (MSG) (Bold emphases and underlining done by me.)
We also need to know that in order for our gifts to grow and develop they must be USED! Like muscles. And this will take discipline and focused effort on our part—always with the help of the Holy Spirit, our constant and ever present Helper!
In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul told Timothy that he needed to “fan the flame” of his gift:
This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1: 6,7
We can all find our flames going out due to fear or from lack of use.
So we need to encourage ourselves and also receive the encouragement of others.
It is vital to keeping our flames of passionate service ablaze!
{ I think that joining our flames together also creates a bigger and brighter and more beautiful and lasting fire! Of course it does! }
So, again I repeat: WE NEED EACH OTHER! God designed us that way! Sorry, lone rangers and hermit-types. { I speak to myself, too… }
In summary, there are 3 primary reasons for knowing your spiritual gifts:
- To bring God glory.
- The building up of the Body of Christ. You have a distinct and definite part in assisting and encouraging the growth of other believers.
- Your own fulfillment. Knowing and using your gifts will give you a better understanding of your unique and indispensable purpose within the body of Christ, which will bring you deep joy and satisfaction.
So… many years ago, I stumbled on an excellent, detailed book about spiritual gifts. Due to the fact that it has continued to be one of the favorites on this subject by many, it has been revised over the years:
“Discover Your God-Given Gifts” ~ Don & Katie Fortune
Much more recently, I found another book that I think is also quite good on this subject:
LINK: Natural Abilities