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Hidden Gifts

By Amie Streater

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 (NLT)

God has made each of us unique. We all have special gifts and talents as well as weaknesses and insecurities. But when we’re in the presence of really talented people, it’s easy to feel less than special. Just look around: You may have a sibling who you think is better looking or one who seems smarter. Maybe you have co-workers who earn more than you do, or those who make difficult jobs look easy. If you’re not gifted with an immediately apparent talent, you might be tempted to wonder, “What am I good at?”

If you struggle with identifying your gifts and talents, who better to take that question to than the One who knows us even better than we know ourselves? Psalm 139 says that God searches us and knows us. He knows our thoughts and our words. He is the One who knows which gifts and talents He’s given to us.

I was raised by my wonderful Christian grandmother who always told me I could do anything. Whenever she talked to me about going to college someday, she always made it sound like it was a certainty, even though we both knew we didn’t have the money. However, as an insecure, 15-year-old, high school student, I found myself beginning to doubt her words. I wasn’t the prettiest or most popular girl in school. And although I made good grades, I certainly wasn’t in the running for class valedictorian. I wasn’t a math whiz or a computer geek. And I sure couldn’t sing. The director of our church’s youth choir politely asked me to play the handbells! And athletics? Forget about it. With every passing day, I watched my grandmother grow older, and I knew that someday soon I’d have to take care of her and support us both. So one night, I got on my knees and asked God to give me something I could do well that would allow me to take care of myself and support my grandmother. God, in His goodness, already knew what that thing was.

A few weeks later, my English teacher suggested that I try out for the high school newspaper. She told me I was a good writer, something I’d never heard before. I landed a spot in the newspaper and in no time was made an editor. In my junior year in high school, I tried out for one of only 20 spots in a summer journalism workshop program. Not only did I get a spot, but at the end of the program, I was awarded one of only three college scholarships to study journalism — it was a full scholarship! I excelled as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade, until God called me into full-time ministry. Now I get to experience the amazing blessings of giving the gifts He’s given to me back to His people every day.

Are you frustrated because you don’t recognize the gifts within you? Some of us are like gleaming chunks of gold lying in a stream just waiting for someone to come along and pick us up. Our talents are there, on display, for the whole world to see and enjoy. Others are like amazing geodes you have to chip away and crack at to get to all of the beauty inside. But once you do, their capabilities are simply remarkable. Still, others have talents that have to be mined like diamonds. Their gifts are buried deep inside, and it takes years of work to bring their true beauty to the surface. But when God, our loving Father, wields the pick and mines our hearts, what He uncovers is always flawless and eternal. Regardless of how long it takes you to find them, rest assured that the gifts and talents God gives are forever. Ask Him to reveal them to you today. Ask Him to hone and refine your talents. Then, give thanks to Him who makes you shine.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and I could say, “I used everything You gave me.”

~ Erma Bombeck

Memory Verse

Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2