I have a friend who frequently laments they don’t have any gifts to use for the Kingdom. I have to consistently remind them if they have breath, then they have been created with a unique combination of skills, talents, and passions to be used for building the Kingdom of God here on earth. I will say the same thing to you: if you are breathing, you have gifts! No one is here by accident.
While some gifts may be more visible and obvious than others, it takes all of us working together to accomplish the work Christ has given us to do. Never minimize your contribution, because you have the potential to do everything God intended you to do.
What about those like my friend who feel they have nothing to add to the Kingdom? How do they discover their gifts? The best advice I can offer is to get to know the God who gave you the gifts in the first place. You do this by diving into His Word. I believe every disciple of Christ should know Scripture inside and out. It’s not a requirement for discipleship, but if you have devoted your life to Christ it only seems logical you will want to know Him as intimately as possible. The quickest way to do this is to immerse yourself in His Word to you.
The closer you draw to God, the more obvious your gifts will become. As you learn about His character and love, as you allow His spirit to empower and fill you, you will begin to naturally do what He created you to do. The more time you spend in His presence, the more you will look like Him when you are going about your daily activities. The more you look like Him, the more you will naturally begin doing those things for which you have been gifted. It all starts by devoting yourself to prayer and study of His Word.
Trust me, you have gifts. Begin by asking Jesus to reveal the gifts He’s entrusted to you, and ask Him to show you how to best use them for the sake of His Kingdom. He gave you the gifts to fulfill His purpose. He’s not going to hide them from you. Christ is looking for a devoted and surrendered heart. He is looking for someone He can use. If you aren’t at the place of willing to be used, perhaps it is why you haven’t figured out what your gifts are yet. Surrender is another important part of discovering your gifts.
The final key to discovering your gifts would be obedience. If God can’t trust you to use what He has given to you, perhaps He is keeping you from discovering the possibilities He has encoded into your DNA. Jesus said those who have been faithful with a little will be trusted with much (Matthew 25:14-30). We must prove ourselves faithful through obedience in the small stuff before we will be given big stuff to do. You have gifts. There is no doubt about this. The only question is whether you will surrender, obey, and study to show yourself available and worthy to use those gifts (II Timothy 2:15). You have gifts. Why not use them for His glory today?