“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”—1 Peter 4:10

Every follower of Jesus has been given certain gifts and abilities.

Perhaps you have been blessed with musical or artistic talent. Then again, you may be good at crunching numbers or building things.

One person may be a great visionary, but not very good with the practical. Another may be a detail person who is not big on vision.

I encourage you to discover your talents and gifts, cultivate them to their fullest, and use them for God’s glory!

Scripture tells us to “not neglect the spiritual gift you received” (1 Timothy 4:14 NLT); we are to keep our gifts in use, not collecting dust.

But how do you know what your gifts are? By exposing yourself to as many opportunities as possible and “giving it a go.” Mere process of elimination plays a part.

Walt Disney, a visionary himself, used to tell a story about a little boy:

A circus came to town, and was going to have a parade. The bandmaster needed someone to play trombone, so the boy signed up. He hadn’t marched a block before the horrible racket coming from his horn caused two old ladies to faint, and a horse to run away. The bandmaster demanded, “Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t play the trombone?” The little boy replied, “How did I know? I never tried before!”

Many of us never find out what we can or cannot do because we never try!

So, you blow your trombone in the circus parade, or you try to lead that song, or teach that little Bible study on your lunch break, or volunteer to do that one thing no one else wants to do, and you make a discovery: You are gifted at it! (Then again, maybe you discover you are not gifted at it.) You may discover you have a talent in an area you had never thought of before.

I never thought I would become a public speaker, much less a pastor. Like most people, I was terrified to be, much less speak, in front of people. I still can remember having to give an impromptu speech in school and failing! I always liked to draw and design and work behind the scenes. But one day, I discovered I had an ability to speak before a group of people.

Perhaps it was because I finally had something to say! And so do you. It’s called the gospel!

We’ll be presenting the gospel to the nation at Harvest America! On March 6, we will live-stream the message of God’s salvation from AT&T Stadium to thousands of host venues. We’ll also enjoy music from Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, MercyMe, and Switchfoot. Find a location near you and invite a friend! More information can be found at harvestamerica.com.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie