Off the Sidelines: Claim Your Unique Spiritual Gift

Dear friends, imagine for a moment that someone who loves you deeply hands you a beautifully wrapped, incredibly expensive gift. You thank them sincerely, carry it home, and place it high on a closet shelf. Years pass, and you never bother to unwrap it.

It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Yet, this is exactly what many believers do with the spiritual gifts God has entrusted to them.

When you placed your faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit didn’t just give you a new heart; He equipped you with unique spiritual abilities meant to be opened, celebrated, and used for the glory of God. The Apostle Peter makes this wonderfully clear:

“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 4:10, NIV)

If you have ever felt like you are just watching from the sidelines in your faith journey, it is time to take that gift off the shelf.

Understanding Spiritual Gifts

First, we must distinguish between natural talents and spiritual gifts. A natural talent—like a beautiful singing voice or a knack for mathematics—is given by God to all people at birth. A spiritual gift, however, is a special empowerment given by the Holy Spirit at salvation specifically for the building up of the church.

The Apostle Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them… Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (NIV)

Notice that your gift is not for you. It is for the “common good.” Pastor and author Charles Swindoll captured this brilliantly when he said:

“Spiritual gifts are not toys to play with. They are tools to build with.”

Whether your gift is teaching, serving, giving, encouraging, leading, or showing mercy (Romans 12:6-8), you possess a vital tool that the body of Christ desperately needs to function correctly.

Practical Steps for Discovering Your Gifts

How do you actually find out what your gifts are? While online spiritual gift assessments can be a helpful starting point, true discovery happens in the messy, beautiful reality of community. Here are three practical steps:

1. Examine Your Deepest Burdens and Joys: What needs in the church or the world break your heart? What type of service makes you lose track of time because you feel so alive doing it? The theologian Frederick Buechner famously wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
2. Ask for Community Affirmation: We are notoriously bad at seeing our own strengths. Ask three mature believers who know you well: “Where do you see God working through me? What do you think my spiritual gifts might be?” Their answers will likely surprise and affirm you.
3. Step Out and Experiment: You cannot steer a parked car. Don’t wait for a burning bush; just find a need and fill it. Volunteer in the children’s ministry, help organize a food drive, or lead a small group. As you serve, the Holy Spirit will confirm where you are uniquely gifted.

The Impact on Personal Growth and the Community

When you begin to operate in your spiritual gift, two beautiful things happen simultaneously.

First, your own spiritual growth explodes. You move from being a consumer to a contributor. You begin to experience God’s power flowing through you, which is a profoundly faith-building experience.

Second, the community thrives. When the person with the gift of mercy cares for the sick, the person with the gift of administration organizes the outreach, and the person with the gift of teaching opens the Word, the church ceases to be a building and becomes a living, breathing body.

Encouraging Stories of Everyday Service

Consider a man in our community named Arthur. For years, Arthur sat in the back pew feeling entirely useless because he wasn’t a public speaker or a musician. But Arthur loved to fix things. When he finally realized that his mechanical skills could be an expression of the gift of helps, he started a quiet ministry repairing the cars of single mothers and widows in our city. His greasy hands have shown the love of Christ to dozens of families more eloquently than a sermon ever could.

Or look at Maria, who discovered her gift was encouragement. Every Monday, she writes five handwritten, incredibly specific letters of appreciation and mails them to people who are struggling. Those letters have arrived on days when people were ready to give up, serving as literal lifelines of hope.

Going Deeper: Recommended Reading

If you want to unwrap your gifts and find your unique place in God’s story, I highly recommend reading these resources:

• What You Do Best in the Body of Christ by Bruce Bugbee – A highly practical, step-by-step guide to helping you identify your unique spiritual gifts, passions, and personal style.
• Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado – A deeply encouraging book about finding your “sweet spot”—the intersection of your everyday life and God’s divine design for you.
• Discover Your Spiritual Gifts by C. Peter Wagner – A classic, comprehensive study on the biblical gifts and how they operate in the modern church.

An Encouraging Thought

Brothers and sisters, the enemy of your soul wants you to believe that you have nothing to offer. He wants you to look at the pastors, the worship leaders, and the extroverts and conclude that you are just a spectator.

Do not believe that lie. The Creator of the universe hand-picked a specific spiritual gift just for you, knowing exactly what your church family would need in this specific season. You are not an accident, and you are not a benchwarmer. You are an essential, irreplaceable part of the body of Christ. Take a step of faith this week, unwrap your gift, and watch what God will do through your willing hands.