How to Find Your God-Given Talent!
posted on November 16, 2011 at 5:36 pm
You might be surprised how many adults are still looking for their God-given talent. For so many of us, the problem isn’t that we don’t have one; it’s that we are trying too hard to find it. People think that a God-given talent must be some huge and complicated thing that we have to search for, but it’s really much simpler than that.
Like all things in our walk with God, start your “talent search” with prayer. Ask God to help you see yourself through His eyes. Most of the time we don’t see our God-given talent because we think that there is nothing extraordinary about us. Ask God to help you see with His eyes because whenever God looks at you, all He sees are extraordinary things because that is what He put in you.
The other part of realizing your God-given talent is paying attention to what is already inside you. For example, when I was growing up my favorite games to play with my sisters were make believe games; we would pretend that we were in college or church. My favorite part of these games was pretending that we were in church because I got to teach the Bible to my younger sisters. Even though it was make believe, I look back now and realize that the game let me start using one of my God-given talents – teaching!
It’s also important to remember that your God-given talent may be something that you don’t even consider a talent, but that isn’t something just anyone else would be good at. My husband David is amazing at making things happen–that’s one of his God-given talents. If someone comes to David with an idea for something that needs building or fixing, he can make it happen. He has a difficult time thinking of that as a talent, but let me tell you, I can’t do what he does!
The most important thing about finding your God-given talent is to be open. Your talent may not be music, performing, or athletics, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a talent or that your talent is less important than someone else’s. We have to be open to talents that put us in the background more than in the spotlight. Think about what you really enjoy doing: singing, teaching, building things, organizing, listening to and helping other people, cleaning. Some of these may not sound like talents, but they are. If you enjoy it, are good at it, and can use it to bless God’s people, then it’s a God-given talent.
I promise you, you have at least one God-given talent. I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.
What do you think your God-given talent might be?
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many… If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? – 1 Corinthians 12:14 & 17
Image: iStockphoto | Thinkstock
ALL COMMENTS 41
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...
I used to think mine was graphic design. Over the past year I’ve learned that I have a great knack for listening to people, and helping them through there issues with an un-biased perspective. I can tell people what they NEED to hear in such a subtle and convient way that supports their interests and makes them know that I’m truly listening and trying to understand where they’re coming from.
Once I figured it out, I finally knew what I wanted to do career-wise. 
I love this! It’s so true! Especially the part about looking back into your childhood. That’s where most of my talents started
and yes, everyone has at least one talent; you may be surprised though if you keep your eyes open. Most people have multiple talents and don’t even know it. God put you on this earth for a reason, and God is a very talented God; so there is no way you don’t have a talent; no matter how uses useless you feel at the time.
Great post!
i have read things like this before but this was particularly encouraging to me.
mine is poetry. Im good of thinking of words that rhyme. I just have to practice a little more to make make things go a bit more smoothly, but I think i’m good
This is an awesome article! Thank you so much! I think I needed this
Ooh! Great post, it really made me think
One of my God-given talents, I think, is encouraging/teaching. Still trying to figure out some of the other talents He’s given me, but, at least now I have a better idea on how to discover them! Thanks for posting 
I don’t know what my talent may be
One of my friends, who also teaches my youth group class from time-to-time, put it this way: he has the gift of music, and a way that he knew that was what God put in him was whenever he saw someone playing the guitar wrong, he always felt compelled to fix it, and it bothered him. That was a big indicator to him that that was his God-given talent. If you’ve ever had that feeling about anything, whether it be music, drawing, teaching, ect., that maybe because that is your talent! I hope this helped in any way, Kay Kay Gal
Thanks! This made me think. Last year I was in the school play. Whenever I would watch others practice their lines I would always want to change the way they said it or acted it. And it would keep bugging me. And every time I watch movies or TV shows I always wonder what it would be like to act a certain characters part. It’s the same with music. I love to play guitar and sing. And whenever I hear someone mess up I always want to fix it. So I guess my talents are acting, singing and playing guitar. Thanks so much
I just found out this year I absolutley love photography!!! People also tell me I’m a reliable person and a great leader
I will pray for God to either show me or lead me to the talent he gave me. This article made me think about what pretend games I used play; using a curved stick as an arrow pretending to be a woodland elf shooting the Orcs (my brothers) and going on a mission with my best friend to save the world from evil monsters. The first scared my mom the second I scared myself and my friend with how elaborate I made the plot of the story we were in the middle of. Now I am participating in National Writing Month. I am writing a fantasy novel with archery, magic and good versus evil. My inspiration is The Lord of the Rings. Maybe I am discovering my God given talent, I really enjoy writing. Great article, thank you for sharing!
you definately sound like you have a knack for imagining and writing. if thats what you love to do then go afer it!
I always created daydreams and alternate realities to escape into when real life got tough. once i started to write them down, i realized i was pretty good. I always leaned torwards forests, archery, and magic, (almost like the Hunger Games trilogy or the Eragon series) but i could imagine almost any place.
I have a gift for language. It just comes so easy to me, I hardly have to try in foreign language class and in Lit. I’m hoping to be a linguist when I’m older and educate people about the wonderful way of communication God has given us. This article was entertaining for me because when I was younger I used to be OBESSED with finiding out my talents. Of course when I finally let go of that, I actually found them. Funny how God works
. Great article!
Thats so cool! I have a firend who moved back to Brazil recently from where I live. He can speak italian, spanish, portugeese, english, and some french all fluently!
I think I am a great encourager and a loyal, helpful friend. I am a senior this year and getting ready to major in mechanical engineering next year! With a minor in Asian Studies! I am beyond excited! I know this is where God is leading me! I am also thankful that this isn’t the end of my talent list. I know God will continue to grant me new abilities and talents as I grow closer to him.
I think mine are singing and compassion for special needs children, maybe I can teach the someday and incorporate music into it
I think that your God-given talent can truly just be something your really passionate about…if that makes sense. I adore woking with kids! I teach kindergarten sunday school, I help with VBS, I go as a counselor on children’s trips, i babysit, etc. In some ways, I think thats my god-given talent. It’s not one like “I can sing” or “I can paint.” haha definitely can’t do either of those!!!! But being around kids, being a role model for these kids, and teaching them are all things I seem to be good at. I love doing it! So, I think that “children’s ministry volunteer” is my talent…
It’s so cool that children’s ministry is our talent! I also love helping out with kids! I get to lead a VBS group of 4 and 5 year olds every year and I love it. Medical stuff is more my talent though, so I want to be a pediatric nurse. Anyway, it’s cool that we share the same love for kids. (:
Mine is art
mine most definately has to be singing. i’ve always loved to sing and i never want to stop. i’m in choir now to better myself, but after highschool i don’t know what to do. i want to combine my passion into my career, but i don’t know what options there could possibly be other than hoping to achieve celebrity status. I also love to write stories and daydream up all sorts of crazy ideas to escape into.
so far throughout my life my God given talent seems to be writing poetry. i havent really considered it because it was just something i would do when i had a thought burning through the back of my brain, but every person i share my poetry with says that i am just amazing.My major trouble is how to use that to praise the Lord’s name and sort of shift into more spiritual poetry and my greatest inspiration is the book of Psalms.
Now that I read this,I realize that one of my talents is taking care of babies and children!
I’m gonna point out right now that I stink at sports. I am chubby and I run out of breath at two laps around a gym. I can’t shoot hoops, block a goal, or hit a volleyball. I can swim, but I’m a little slow. But I love to swim, so it doesn’t matter.
I used to think I would be a ballerina when I was little. (6 years old, what else could I want?) I took a dance class. *cough* *cough* Fail! *cough*
Then I decided I should be a veteranarian, because I loved working with animals. I researched everything and knew it all about cats lol. Then, I realized I would be a horrible vet because I have emetophobia and there is no way I would be able to be around a vomiting animal.
Then I wanted to be a music artist, (In my Justin Bieber phase, yuck!)and I thought I would be wonderful there because I could play any instrument and sing. No, I don’t want to be a music artist. Well, actually, I still kind of do, because I love Christian music and am really artistically and muscially talented.
So this year I figured out that my talent is art. Bam. I can draw very well, play music, paint, and use a computer mouse. So I think everything else was sort of “staged” to not work so I would finally realize I’m an artist at heart. I now want to go to art collage and major in Photography and traditional drawing.
Heh.
Definitely art
I love expressing my creativity and God’s creations to show people about the world.
I think mine is photography. I get strange looks because I’ll just sat there and say I wanna take a picture of that. And People will say why? Then when they see the picture they go THAT IS AMAZING!
id like to see your pics… i really like photography.. share?
i know mt talent but its still in progess next year i might get money then i’ll know thats my tallent(piano)
I always thouhgt that doing jumps on my bike and skateboard was my life. God lead me to my God – given talent by a television show. Make it or break it. For people who dont know what that is, its about girls doing gymnastics. I started to do gymnastics and dance in my front lawn! Now i dance and do gymnastics every day. and i love it. i still do jumps and ride my skateboard, but not as much anymore. I just pray that i dont hurt myself
It seems like I’m ok or good at a lot of things, but I’m not great at anything. What it seems like I’m not good at (at least that I care about) are things that I think that I could use to help other people or serve God. Hmmmm… I guess I’ll just keep praying and see what happens.
I think that my talent might be photography. My family and relatives always say that I take great pictures. I just never really thought of that as a talent before, but I am even thinking about it as my career!
This is so true: I used to think that I was meant to sing, but then I realized that God had given me something amazing: my knack for drawing. The more I thought about it, the more I found it to be true; I drew all the time when I was little! I used to draw pictures for family and friends but I never thought about it much.
Your “God-Given Talent” is probably the thing you love to do the most, be it teaching, drawing, or something else!
I like … many things. i love art though,im very creative. I always get into something. i’ve done painting, sketching, jewelry, make up, now i’m into nail art, but every time i get interested in something i really get into to it and just when im getting really good at it i stop doing it. it always happens and idk why. could it be an artistic talent?? also i like to use my head, i always tell people that God gave me a brain and im not afraid to use it. but im not some genius either, pple tell me that im very intelligent but i honestly dont think im as bright as they say. at the moment im a math major, considering accounting (im a math person) My dream had always been to go to an art school but idk.. art just doenst seem like a secure career. -_- so i just settled for math. something secure. also i see these people that are just artistically amazing and i get discouraged cause i see that there are many other pple that are way better than me
I’m not sure what talent God has blessed me with, but I think that I’m pretty good at writing stories and drawing
Same here! But I’m mostly good at writing, because I have written 1 1/2 novels. I realized that I was good at it when I read this article!
Is there an article on how to make money with your talent? I”m sving up for a phone, and need money, QUICK!
I’ve been told I’m a natural dancer
Dancing is my passion. I feel free and calm when I dance. Dancing helps when I am angry or sad or depressed. It’s the way I express myself. My family gets really annoyed sometimes because I dance so much. Forever I was so sad that we don’t have enough money for lessons! Now I’ve decided to just put the problem in God’s hands. If I never get lyrical dance lessons it will be okay because he has bigger plans:’)
I’ve been told that I’m very gentle and kind.
I love helping out with the children at church and babysitting! Kids are the sweetest things. They don’t have to worry about anything around them. When I’m playing with a little kid I don’t have to worry about acting grown up and perfect. I can play with them and make them feel special. Training my dogs is also fun! My biggest dog knows how to dance. I make routines with her and we dance to Britt Nicole.
I love music.
When I hear that perfect song I just want to cry(and I rarely cry like that). The song with so much emotion and meaning, you just get overwhelmed with feeling! Singing and playing guitar is also something I do. I don’t think I have a good voice, but some people say I do. I’ve had no lessons or anything at all for my voice. Music is such a powerful thing.
These are the things I’m passionate about
the problem with me is that i dont know how to use my talents..unfortunately… and im not gonna say this to boast or anything… but its just… i can sing, play the guitar, piano, drums, act, and i write songs… but how do i develop all my talents? I mean.. i know God has a reason for giving me this responsibility, and with three younger siblings and being the oldest… i have to be a role model… but its soo hard. I want to get closer to the Lord, but i want to develop my talents and focus solely on him… but i feel like i might stray… pray for me… cuz right now im struggling…
Each person is gifted with so many talents, but if you never try them or are never open then you’ll never find these talents that you’ve been given. You shouldn’t refuse to perform your talents just because you wish you were gifted in other areas. As 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says: There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of works to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person. Great post by the way, thanks for sharing!
Wow this article was really helpful. I think my God given talent is singing. My family tells me I was something like a jukebox baby without the off button haha! I also keep getting this feeling over the years, it’s like a tapping feeling with the word singing at the back of my mind. I think God wants me to sing, but I’m too scared to sing in front of one stranger, let alone many! Aye! My hands are all clammy from just thinking about it! :S Maybe I’ll just stick to singing in the shower and find another talent to share with the world
Hm perhaps cooking…
How do u know if u draw good? I love to draw but dont know if i am good at it or not!
I am a great cook but how does that have to do w God? Also i love all things creative
I love to swim too