A gift is a unique endowment given by God to man to enable him fulfill his destiny and the purpose for which he was made. Gifts are expressions of one’s uniqueness and relevance in any field of human endeavor. They can be seen in the way people dance, sing, write, speak, draw, paint and teach. Gifts are essential assets that are needed in the journey of life and the pursuit of purpose.

Everyone has a gift which yearns for expression regardless of the race, tribe, creed, status or age. However most people go through life without discovering or identifying their gifts and some discover their gifts but never take steps to develop them. This explains why Dr. Myles Munroe of blessed memory made a statement “that the grave yard or cemetery is the richest place on planet earth”.

This is because it is in the cemetery that you see books that were never written, companies that were never built, invention that were never made, songs that were never sung, artworks that were never drawn and so much more. It means that for fulfilment of destiny to be a reality our gifts must be discovered, developed and utilized for the betterment of humanity. Let us look at how this can be achieved:

1. Discover Your Purpose:

Purpose simply means the original intent for a particular thing. Know what you are created to do and why you are here on earth. Everyone was created for a particular purpose. It takes a diligent search through the prayer of enquiry to discover one’s purpose in life. In the words of Dr. Myles Munroe: “When the purpose of a thing is not known abuse is inevitable” and when the purpose is known its use is inevitable.

Your gift is always discovered when your purpose is discovered because you need your gifts for the fulfillment of purpose and destiny. For instance a man’s purpose or vision could be to provide jobs for people through entrepreneurship training but to achieve this he discovers he has the gift of teaching which is needed in the pursuit of his vision.

2. Discover Your Passion:

Passion is the strong desire a person has for particular thing which makes him want to do that thing without being motivated or encouraged. It flows from within and makes one to have a unique energy and longing when undertaking a task or activity.

If you pay close attention, you will discover that your passion could be a pointer to your gifts. When your gift becomes your passion, you begin to engage it with zeal and enthusiasm in a way different from what others do with theirs. I have seen people with gifts but without a passion for their gifts.

This poses a great risk to the development of gifts and its utilization. Sometimes the people we surround ourselves with assist us in destroying the passion for our gifts. We will dwell more on this in the next point.

3. Discover the Right People:

Association is a major factor required for the development of one’s gifts. The kind of people you surround yourself with determines to a large extent how well your gifts will be developed.

The people around you help to create an environment which will either stimulate or suffocate your gift. That’s why it is important to be with people who have shared values and vision with you so you can get the right motivation and encouragement needed for your gifts to be developed.

It is also wise to associate with persons who have similar gifts and have utilized theirs to succeed while making significant achievements in their fields. These people can serve as mentors by helping to shape and mould you into the kind of person you are destined to be. For your gifts to find the right expression you need the right association.

4. Discover the Right Place:

The place you find yourself at a particular time has a fundamental role to play in the discovery and development of your gifts. A place or environment consists of people, events and opportunities that come your way at a given time.

The right environment stimulates the development of an individual. An enabling environment helps to create the opportunities for the expression of gifts.

These opportunities are platforms through which a person’s gift can be brought to limelight. Similarly, the wrong place or environment suffocates one’s gift and destroys all possible avenues and platforms through which such gifts can be harnessed and utilized.

This concept is very important when raising children. Children with exceptional abilities are known to have grown in homes and attended schools where adequate care and attention were given to them for their overall development.

This is what every parent and teacher must strive to achieve: to create an enabling environment where the gifts of children can be discovered, developed and utilized effectively for the fulfillment of God’s purpose for their lives.

5. Discover Your Potential:

Potential simply means the hidden and untapped ability within you which yearns for expression. A person’s potential remains inert and redundant until it is harnessed for effective use. Potentials can also be gifts which have not been discovered and developed.

These potentials require sheer determination and discipline for them to be nurtured. For instance, a person may have the potential for writing or singing but if such potential is not nurtured or developed, it remains dormant and begins to deteriorate.

This is why potentials develop with time when given the right exposure and training so that the possessor of the potential can maximize the benefits that come along with it.

Gifts are great assets that cannot be ignored in the journey to the fulfilment of one’s purpose and destiny and should be discovered, developed and utilized. Gifts are personal endowments possessed by individuals which remain untapped.

They are treasures which are indispensable and as such should not be ignored in the pursuit of purpose and destiny. It is the gift of a man that makes room for him and brings him before people.

Gifts make the pursuit of purpose easy and simple and until they are discovered, developed and expressed personal fulfilment remains unattainable.

By Stanley Chijioke Apugo
Phone: 08037414138

Email: stanleyapugo@yahoo.com