Many years ago, I went through a class designed to help me discover my spiritual gifts. The thought being that if one is to serve God effectively, he should first find out how God has equipped him for service.
The way we went about determining our gifts was to complete a spiritual inventory, a psychological test designed to ferret out your bents, leanings and propensities. My top one was teacher, so preaching and teaching was where I was best suited. Of course, I was already preaching and teaching so I didn't discover anything ground-breaking. In fact, I don't think I discovered anything at all.
What I mean to say is that I only saw what I was already seeing. The inventory only revealed what I already believed as it reflected what I inwardly saw of myself. But, was that what God gifted me to be doing: teaching and preaching? If so, why is the primary ministry I'm involved in today encouraging and supporting people who are dying? I can preach and teach but that isn't what God led me to do in ministry in this season of my life.
God did lead me to preaching ministry and did equip me for the same but He has not been doing so lately. My point being that God's spiritual gifts and calls to ministry are not set in stone, they are molded in clay, which the Potter can alter at will: "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him...like clay in a potter's hand so you are in my hands" (Jer 18:4-6).
Spiritual gifts aren't something you are born with or trained in that God considers when he calls you to serve. Spiritual gifts are something God supplies when he calls you to serve. You may be quite surprised where and to what He calls you. You may think that it is not your strong suit. But God doesn't need our strength or skills, just our willingness to serve and be molded. Jus' Sayn.
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