Many assume that “spiritual gifts” is simply religious jargon for the talents and predispositions we’re born with. However, the Bible presents a different perspective, suggesting that spiritual gifts are uniquely activated by God at a specific moment in time. These gifts can be instrumental in harmonizing the various aspects of your being and understanding your divine purpose.
In our quest for self-understanding, we often turn to personality assessments like Myers-Briggs, DISC, and the Enneagram. These tools can offer interesting insights, yet self-discovery that excludes a spiritual dimension can feel incomplete. While these tests can be helpful in understanding our natural inclinations, they often fall short of revealing the deeper, divinely empowered abilities known as spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are not something you can unlock through a quiz or earn through personal merit. They are not psychic powers, but rather, gifts bestowed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. These “spiritual” gifts originate directly from the Spirit of God, offering a dimension of self-understanding and purpose that goes beyond natural talents.
Spiritual Gifts are Divine Abilities Activated by God – Discover Your Unique Gifts
The source of all our gifts, in their diverse forms, is God. Psalm 139:15-16 beautifully illustrates this, depicting a God who knew us intimately even before our birth:
“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Some of the attributes we recognize as “gifts” are indeed inherent from birth – personality traits, physical attributes, or natural talents. Other gifts emerge as we develop, acquiring skills through our innate capacity to learn and grow in specific areas. However, a transformative set of gifts becomes available to us upon embracing faith in Jesus.
These are precisely what are known as “spiritual gifts.” They are the key to unlocking your fullest potential and aligning all facets of your being with a divine purpose.
Reflecting on my own experiences, my lifelong love for books and the profound impact of language, both written and spoken, started to make deeper sense after my spiritual awakening. My inclination to encourage through words, my careful selection of phrasing in questions, and my aversion to superficial conversations – all these aspects of my personality resonated deeply with the spiritual gifts I began to uncover: teaching and encouragement. Suddenly, these inherent preferences and talents found a fulfilling direction, aimed at helping others connect with God and understand His Word in the Bible. For someone who always cherished books, this felt profoundly right.
Unlocking Your Spiritual Gifts Can Illuminate Your Life's Purpose – Personal Journey of Gift Discovery
Unpacking What Spiritual Gifts Truly Are
Spiritual gifts can serve as the unifying element that brings together disparate parts of your life – all the pieces of self-knowledge you’ve accumulated. Recognizing a spiritual gift often brings an “aha!” moment, a sense of clarity and understanding about your inner workings and purpose.
These gifts are not arbitrary additions to your being; they are often latent within you, waiting to be activated. It is faith in Jesus that ignites these gifts within us. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us from the moment of genuine faith in Jesus, is the Giver, Empowerer, Enabler, and Activator of spiritual gifts. These “spiritual gifts” empower us to express love, build community, and expand the Kingdom of God here on Earth.
No single follower of Jesus possesses all the spiritual gifts, yet every believer is endowed with at least one. The Bible emphasizes God’s role in distributing these gifts: “….he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Cor 12:8-12). This verse highlights the diversity and distribution of gifts within the body of Christ, emphasizing that each gift is valuable and contributes to the whole.
The New Testament provides several lists outlining various types of spiritual gifts in passages like Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. It’s important to understand that these lists are not exhaustive. God’s capacity to empower us with gifts is limitless, and He can bestow them as He sees fit.
Among the spiritual gifts mentioned in Scripture, we find: Administration, Apostleship, Discernment, Encouragement, Exhortation, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, Healing, Hospitality, Interpreting tongues, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Miracles, Pastoring, Prophecy, Teaching, Speaking in Tongues, Serving, and Wisdom. Each of these gifts represents a unique way in which believers can serve God and others, reflecting the multifaceted nature of divine grace.
God’s generosity in giving these amazing gifts is profound. Through the power of His Spirit, we gain access to these incredible abilities, gifts that God had planned for us from the beginning. The purpose of our spiritual gifts is not self-aggrandizement but to magnify God by extending His grace to those around us. We are entrusted with these gifts not as possessions, but as resources to be managed for God’s glory and the benefit of others.
Be a Steward of Your Spiritual Gifts – Use Your Divine Gifts to Serve and Bless Others
As 1 Peter 4:10 instructs, “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” You are a steward, a manager, of the gifts you have been given. God’s intention in gifting you is to channel His grace through you to the people in your sphere of influence.
Your spiritual gifts are, in essence, God’s grace made tangible. He is the giver, the empowerer, and He calls you to participate in His mission through them. When we utilize our gifts to glorify God and serve others, rather than for personal gain, we unlock a life of purpose, fulfillment, and thriving in our divine calling.
Discovering Your Own Spiritual Gifts
If you are seeking to uncover the spiritual gifts that may be dormant within you, begin by engaging in a process of reflection and seeking guidance. Consider these questions as starting points in your journey of discovery:
Reflect Personally: In what situations do I feel most alive and purposeful when serving others?
Seek Feedback: Ask a trusted friend, “What positive impact do you consistently see me have on others?”
Pray Expectantly: Petition God, “Holy Spirit, reveal to me the spiritual gifts you have entrusted to me, and guide me in using them to Your glory.”
You are gifted! These abilities exist within you for a divine purpose, aligned with God’s intentions. The world around us is in constant need of God’s grace, and you possess an inexhaustible wellspring of it within, ready to flow outward through your spiritual gifts. Embrace the journey of discovering and deploying these gifts to make a meaningful impact.
