The duck was excellent in swimming; in fact, better than his teacher. But since he was slow in running, he had to stop swimming and stay after school to practice running. This caused his web feet to be badly worn, so that he was only average in swimming. He only made got C's in flying, and F's in running.

     The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but was poor in swimming and had to practice swimming so much that he developed a nervous twitch in his leg.

     The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but got very frustrated in flying class. He developed very sore muscles from trying too hard and so he only got a C in climbing and a D in running.

      The eagle was a problem student and was punished for doing things his own way and not following the teacher's instructions exactly. In climbing classes he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but always used his own way to get there...." How do you think he got to the top? He flew because that was what he does best.

     Like these animals, every one has his own special abilities. And we need to find out how God has made us, what abilities He has given to us and what He wants us to do. But don't try to be someone else. Don't try to be like Billy Graham, Daniel Lee (Dong-Won) or David Kim (Sang-Bok). Find out the gifts God has given you and be faithful to use those gifts to the best of your ability for Him. How can you discover and use your Spiritual gift? Here are seven simple steps you can take to find your answer to this question.

1. UNDERSTAND THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A GIFT.

1 Peter 4:10

"Each one should use whatever gift He has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms"

Peter made it clear that each member of the church has received a spiritual gift. Since the word of God so clearly affirms that you have received a spiritual gift, it is a matter of you agreeing with what God has said in His word. Can you gratefully acknowledge to God and to His church, "I have a spiritual gift!"?

2. STUDY WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
     Seek to discover what the Bible has to say about spiritual gifts but at the same time realize that some of those gifts may be expressed in very contemporary terms in our day. The forms through which the gifts are expressed may vary from age to age.

3. ASK GOD TO SHOW YOU YOUR GIFT AND HOW HE WANTS YOU TO USE IT.
      James wrote,

James 1:5-8

"If any of you lacks wisdom, He should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a doubled minded man, unstable in all he does"

When you have asked Him, trust Him to do it. Anticipate that God is going to answer that prayer. If you are going to pray effectively for understanding of your spiritual gift, there needs to be a commitment to do whatever it is God has gifted you to do.

4. TRY DIFFERENT AREAS OF MINISTRY UNTIL YOU FIND ONE THAT GOD BLESSES.
      You will probably discover that you have the gift of service while you are serving, not when you are just sitting. You will probably discover you have the gift of teaching while you are teaching! You will probably discover you have the gift of giving, while you are giving. So, instead of sitting and waiting on God to show you your gift, find a need and begin to meet it.

5. ASK YOURSELF, "WHAT DO I LIKE TO DO FOR THE LORD?"
     Some people fear and think that if they ever find the will of God for their lives that it might be something that would make them miserable. What if God asks me to do something I don't like. What if God gave me a spiritual gift I don't like. Actually, the opposite is the truth. If you can ever find the will of God for your life, it will be the delight of your heart. When you find what your spiritual gift is, it, too, will be the delight of your heart.

     A good thing to do is to take a blank piece of paper and think about things that you would like to do if you had the opportunity. When something comes to mind, write it down. Make a list of them. Then ask yourself 'If I could only do one of these, which would I really want to do?" When you have discovered that one thing that you would really like to do, then volunteer to do it. You might discover that this is one of your spiritual gifts.

6. LISTEN TO WHAT OTHER MATURE CHRISTIANS SAY ABOUT YOUR GIFT(S).
      Sometimes God speaks to us through others. Others may see in us a giftedness that we don't see. Has someone been speaking to you about what they can see in your life? Listen to them. Their words may not have final authority, but they are worth listening to. When I took the spiritual gift test, I asked my family if I was like this or that. Wow! They would often see something I did not every see.

7. ASK YOURSELF, "WHERE IS MY BURDEN?"
     Has God given to you a burden? It may be that God is speaking to you concerning His will for your life through that burden. Wherever your burden is, that could be where your gift is. If you don't have a burden, then ask God for a burden. As you are praying about your spiritual gift, ask God to share a burden with you. Every child of God needs to be carrying a burden for some aspect of the work of the Lord. Burdens and spiritual gifts can be closely related to each other.

by Charles Ross
LINKS TO . . . Other Bible Messages Genesis Esther Daniel Philippians James Complete Discipleship Topics