“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” – 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11
A spiritual gift is given to each person, by God. He has sent the Holy Spirit to work in and through each and everyone of us, so that we may use our gifts according to His will. The bible speaks of many different gifts such as prophesying, speaking in tongues, healing or being able to discern, just to name a few. When we walk with God, he aligns our desires and passions to the specific gifts we are given. When we don’t know what our gift is, than we won’t be able to use it. The longer we spend not using our gifts, the longer it will take to reach our fullest potential.
I struggled with understanding my spiritual gift for a long time, and had no idea what it was or could be. I thought about all the things I enjoyed doing like painting, drawing, scrapbooking or pretty much anything D.I.Y. love being creative and always had a passion for art, but I didn’t see the correlation to a ‘spiritual gift’ and my hobbies. I thought about all the things I am passionate about and felt maybe it would lead me to uncovering what my gift was, but I found nothing. I thought about all the experiences I’ve been through in life, from my different jobs to the schools I attended; That’s when it hit me!
I graduated college with a B.A degree in interpersonal/organizational communication. It may sound fancy but simply put, it’s learning and understanding all aspects of communication from non-verbal to other-centered. To sum it up, it’s not what you say that matters most, it’s how you say it. I have had several public speaking presentations and enjoy being a speaker. These experiences are meaningful because it sets me apart from anyone I know. My family is from New York and fits every ‘New Yo-rican’ stereotype. We don’t communicate much in our family, which always intrigued me to learn more about it. I never liked to assume and was always aware that emotions can sometimes lead to conflict. I never liked to gossip and always separated myself from those that started or spread rumors. I’ve always been able to verbally explain my feelings, without allowing them to get the best of me, which is not common, where I’m from. In fact, my family usually makes me the ‘mediator’ in all family disputes or arguments because they understand my stance of neutrality and being able to clearly define situations and feelings. This is not something I take lightly, it is a responsibility. My spiritual gift is communication.
Learning what your spiritual gift is a process that requires lots of reading and praying. We have to seek the wisdom of God, to truly know what our gift is. Living without knowing what your gift is, only wastes time. It is important to discover what gift you have, so that you can use it. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to fulfill the mission of the church. Churches are only as good as the members that attend. As followers of Christ, we need to do our part on earth to complete our assignment and it starts with learning and living out our spiritual gifts. God sends the Holy Spirit to uncover the truth of our gifts. If you don’t know what your gift is, it’s time to begin the process.