Talents

As mentioned earlier, a key to uncovering and fulfilling God’s plan for your life lies in evaluating:

1. The unique talents, skills and abilities God has given you. When people talk about talent, we often hear it referred to as “natural”, “gifted” or “God-given”. We are born with skills in either athletics, academics, arts, music or countless other areas. The question is how we will use those talents. Those more blessed with talent can choose to use it make a tremendous positive impact on the world around them or simply to make money for themselves. Meet the Need contains thousands of needs… many of which are ideally suited for the talents God has given you.
2. How God has developed those talents through your past experiences. God’s plan for you can become apparent if you look back objectively on how God has honed your skills and talents to prepare you to use them to serve God and others. We are not completely in control of the things we end up doing in life… the families we are born into, the jobs

we get, the relationships we wind up in are all doors of opportunity that God has opened up for us. As you see how God refined and shaped you for service throughout those past circumstances, you will understand what God wants you to do to experience true fulfillment in life. God can even use your struggles in life to prepare you to help those who are going through similar situations… but no one else will benefit by what you have learned if you don’t reach out to them.

Key Questions:

1. What do you do better than most other people?
2. What jobs or relationship can you point to in your life where God probably put you in those situations to teach you something of value and develop my skills?
3. How have you used those lessons and those abilities to help other people?
4. What more can you do to use your talents to make a difference in the world around you?