In life and ministry, what are you good at? What are your strengths, and why might it be helpful to know? How might it honor God, bless you, help others, and further the Kingdom to identify and properly use your strengths? How comfortable are you with that idea? Do you tend to note your shortcomings more readily that your strengths? In my previous post, I encouraged you to deal with problematic weaknesses, but it also is important to know and utilize our strengths. How might we do that?
Pay attention. – In my post dealing with weaknesses, I reminded you of our need for self-awareness, and this applies to our strengths as well. Therefore, paying attention to certain sources of understanding or information can help us identify our strengths. Here are some filters or indicators that help us identify strengths.
Pay attention to what happens within you as you do certain things. – Where is there a feel of ease, ability, and natural comfort? What tasks come easily, and where do you seem to have success? What resonates with your passions or interests? Sometimes, we enjoy things we are not good at, but other times this may help us identify strengths.
Pay attention to others’ responses to you and your work. – Under what circumstances or in what tasks or roles do people tend to respond well to you and your efforts? Which efforts tend to gain traction or have impact?
Pay attention to affirmation. – Both affirmation and criticism may be misguided or manipulative, but we still should pay attention, with discernment, when people affirm us in certain abilities. They may confirm something we suspected or help us see an ability of which we were unaware.
Pay attention to opportunities. – Sometimes, we get opportunities to do things we are good at, particularly as others recognize our strengths.
Pay attention to trusted confidants. – What do trusted people in your life tell you? What abilities do those who love you and know you see in you? Have you asked them?
Get help with assessment. – Sometimes, we are unaware of our strengths, while other times we believe we possess strengths we do not. What can help us with this?
Personality assessments – Just as these tools help us spot problem areas and natural tendencies in our way of doing, being, and relating, they also can help us identify strengths and potential strengths for development. One particular assessment for this purpose is Gallup’s StrengthsFinder.
Trusted confidants – I suggested in my previous post that we need a small number of people in our lives who love the Lord, love us, and want the best for us. These people should not only support us and ask us challenging questions but also should help us identify our strengths. Again, be careful whom you allow into this position, and if you do not have someone like this, begin asking the Lord to provide that person. As mentioned previously, I believe, other than your spouse, this person needs to be of the same gender as you.
Better questions – Just as good questions help us identify weaknesses, they also may help us identify and utilize strengths. And, sometimes we need the perspective of someone like a coach to ask us those questions.
Types of Strengths – When I think of strengths, I think of broad categories of ability with reference to people, ideas, or tasks, but I also want to mention a few, more specific types of strengths.
Natural Gifts and Talents – Natural gifts and talents are just that, things you and I have a hard-wired ability to do well.
Personality Strengths – There is a balance of hard-wired tendencies and developmental results here, but again, these are our natural tendencies for how we relate to the world around us.
Learned Skills and Developed Strengths – These are abilities or strengths we have had to learn, nurture, develop, and refine through education and experience, but still they are strengths.
Spiritual Gifts – These are abilities given to us by God’s Spirit after we are born again and are intended for honoring God and serving His Kingdom purposes.
Utilize and Maximize Strengths Appropriately. – A single blog post cannot fully deal with how to capitalize on our strengths for God’s glory, but here are some suggestions.
Be appropriately guarded and vigilant concerning strengths. – Oswald Chambers is quoted as writing, “An unguarded strength is a double weakness.” When we are good at something and know it, we may misuse it or fall into some temptation in that area. We also may play to that strength too much, knowingly or unknowingly neglecting an area of weakness or causing harm through overusing our strength. For example, I am good at trouble-shooting, which means I am good at seeing what is wrong and pointing it out. When not balanced with affirmation, this becomes a harmful way to lead others. What other examples come to mind? How might your strengths cause problems if not used correctly?
Sharpen your strengths. – How might your effectiveness increase if you sharpened your strengths? In what ways might you make an existing ability even more useful for the Kingdom? Who can help you with that?
Utilize your strengths. – Are you working within your strengths? How might you adjust your efforts so you capitalize on your abilities, using them more consistently?
Realize the gaps and supplement your strengths and weaknesses. – No one is good at everything. If we are not careful, we will do only what we are good at and leave other, important things undone. Or, we will be distracted from applying our strengths fully because of spending effort on things we might let others help us with. What needs supplemented in your life and work?
Surrender your strengths to the Lord in dependence on Him. – One of my favorite Bible verses is John 15:5, where Jesus reminds us of the necessity of abiding in Him for fruitfulness. One temptation concerning strengths is to forget we need the Lord’s power and blessing even in areas of ability. What might happen if we took our strengths and placed them and ourselves in Jesus’ hands in reliance on Him?