https://odb.org/2026/07/09/sharing-our-spiritual-gifts
Romans 12:3–8 (NIV): 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
“You’re good at playing the guitar,” I said to a new friend at church. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s my ministry.” There was that word again. Ministry. I didn’t know what that was or how someone “got” a ministry. But my friend was simply using the musical ability he’d been given to serve others. When I later discovered that one of my gifts was exhortation, or encouragement, I was a bit disappointed. It felt too plain. But soon I realized that as the care leader of our small group, I delighted in writing encouraging notes or calling our members. I’d been using one of my spiritual gifts without even knowing it. As believers in Jesus, we’re each given spiritual gifts to serve in the church (1 Corinthians 12:6). Sometimes we don’t know what they are, so we simply serve where there’s need. The Holy Spirit will do the rest (vv. 4-6, 8-11). (Nancy Gavilanes, Our Daily Bread 9th July 2026)
Spiritual (grace) gifts are listed in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; and 1 Corinthians 12:28. No two lists are identical, which indicates they aren’t exhaustive. The purpose of listing the gifts isn’t to enumerate how many types of gifts there are but rather to teach us to use them in a loving way that promotes growth and unity in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 13:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10). Spiritual gifts equip God’s people to do His work, to edify and build up the church (Ephesians 4:11-16), and to serve others and bring glory to God (1 Peter 4:10-11). To achieve this, Paul tells us not to think too highly or too lowly of ourselves but to use our spiritual giftedness in humility (Romans 12:3). (K.T. Sim, Insight, Our Daily Bread 9th July 2026)
Personally, I got to know Christ through learning how to play the guitar. A group of outstation (an expression common in Malaya since the British days to denote people who are from elsewhere but stationed in a particular place, usually used for government servants) teachers opened their home in Pasir Puteh to us local students and introduced us to musical instruments. 3 of us went there to fellowship and learn to play the guitar and in the process, we eventually accepted Christ. A few years later, I joined a church in Kota Bharu and started playing the guitar for their worship services and that’s how I started my “ministry” or one could say, my involvement in church ministry. I still lead in worship and play the guitar but that’s no longer my main ministry.
We could stumble upon a ministry based on our God-given talents like some of us are more encouraging in words and demeanour. Like K.T. Sim said, the lists of spiritual gifts are not meant to be exhaustive and thus it could be our own God-given talents. Or we could also work towards them like teaching or discipleship where training or knowledge may be acquired informally or even formally by enrolling in a seminary. Recently, a leader in my local church started a Greek class, no doubt leveraging on his theological studies in a bible college.
I have been in the music ministry for more than 40 years now. Most ministries are a life long thing. We serve using our talents and spiritual gifts until our last breath. Start somewhere and over time we will discover our spiritual gifts. For example, as we get involved more in ministering, we may gain the gift of discernment and word of knowledge. Some in the process learned they have the gift of healing, meaning when they pray, they have a higher chance of invoking God’s healing power. We will only know what are our spiritual gifts when we step out in faith. When we trust the prompting of the Spirit and trust perhaps in a picture we see as we pray. The more we operate in the spiritual realm, the better we will get. Don’t be afraid but step up in faith!
