"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
1 Peter 4:10Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Not maybe. Not if you are spiritual enough. Every single one. The moment you became a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit gave you something to contribute to the body. Not for your own benefit. For everyone else's.
And yet most Christians do not know what their gift is. They have taken a quiz. They have read a book. They have a vague sense that maybe they are good at encouraging people. But they are not using it. They are not even sure what it is. And the church is weaker because of it.
You Are a Steward, Not a Owner
Each of you. Whatever gift. To serve others. Not to build your own platform. Not to feel important. Not to check a box. To serve. The gift is not yours. It is God's. You are a steward. A manager. Someone entrusted with something that belongs to someone else and is meant to be given away.
Your spiritual gift is not a personality trait. It is not a natural talent. It is a supernatural empowerment given by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the church. You did not earn it. You cannot lose it. And you are responsible for using it.
How to Discover Your Gift
Here is how you discover your gift. You do not discover it by taking a test. You discover it by serving. You try things. You teach a class. You visit someone in the hospital. You organize an event. You sit with someone who is grieving. You give money to someone in need. You speak up in a meeting. You pray for someone. And you pay attention to what happens.
Where does energy come alive? Where do other people say "that really helped me"? Where do you feel most useful to God? Where does the work feel less like labor and more like flow? That is your gift. Not the thing you are best at. The thing that comes most naturally when you are trying to serve.
Your Gift Is Not a Mystery to Be Solved
The lists of spiritual gifts in Scripture are not exhaustive. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4. They overlap. They are not identical. They are examples, not categories. Your gift might not have a name on any list. It might be the ability to make strangers feel welcome. To notice when someone is struggling. To bring peace to a tense room. To see the big picture when everyone else is stuck in details. These are gifts. Real ones. And the church needs them.
Here is what holds most people back. They are waiting for someone to confirm their gift. They want a pastor to lay hands on them and say "yes, that is your gift." They want a certificate. They want permission. But the New Testament model is not permission-based. It is participation-based. You serve. People benefit. You keep serving. That is the confirmation. The fruit is the proof.
And here is the thing about gifts. They grow when you use them. The more you serve, the stronger your gift becomes. The more you give, the more capacity you have to give. It is not a limited resource. It is a muscle. And it gets stronger with exercise.
Try Serving This Week
Think about the last time you served someone and it felt right. Not exhausting. Not performative. Right. What were you doing? Who were you helping? What about it felt natural?
Write it down. That is a clue. Follow it. Serve someone this week. Anywhere. Anyhow. And pay attention to what happens.
- When have you served and it felt natural, not exhausting?
- What has held you back from using your gift?
- What is one way you could serve this week?
- What if the fruit is the proof? What would you do if you stopped waiting for permission?
- How might your gift be different from what you expected?
Lord, I want to use what You've given me. I've been waiting for confirmation, for a sign, for someone to tell me what my gift is. Help me to stop waiting and start serving. Open my eyes to where I can give. And let the fruit be my proof. Amen.
Tomorrow we are going to talk about work as worship. You do not need to quit your job and go into full-time ministry to serve God. Your ordinary work is already sacred. Here is why.
With honesty and hope, Claire