In the last article, we talked about how our identity reveals God’s plan for our lives. It is our identity – and the character and abilities that make up that identity – that leads us to our destiny.
God has intentionally invested gifts and talents and abilities into our lives, they have all been poured into us for a reason. We are expected to use the gifts and abilities God has invested in us toward a purpose.
Ephesians 2:10 makes it very clear: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." When we get busy enacting our calling, we draw closer to our purpose.
Let's investigate the first of five contributing puzzle pieces that, when combined, reveal our true identity and as a result, our destiny. Puzzle piece #1 is Physical Talent.
If you’ve got it – use it.
The point here is simply this: If you have a Tiger Woods-like talent in an area, you need to know that. If you have an amazing ability to do something physical at a near perfect level, then you need to know what it is as soon as possible so that you can start doing something with it.
Roger Bannister first discovered that he could run at age 17 while attending Oxford University in 1946. It was plain to see that he had marvelous talent and was running remarkably fast for how little he trained. In the years that followed Bannister trained and raced with focused determination with one goal in mind: to be the first person in the world to run one mile in under four minutes.
On May 6, 1954, Bannister accomplished his dream. Later he is quoted as saying, ”I feel God’s pleasure when I run.” Clearly God gave him that physical gift and Roger felt the joy of using that gift for its purpose. His influence in the running community and the inspirational nature of his story has touched millions of people.
Could it be that you have such a talent? Maybe not to run, but to work with wood, or to play basketball or to drive racecars? Whatever the physical talent is, there are three reasons to discover it and improve it.
1. Your Best
Knowing where you are strongest and acting out of that gifting is how you make your best contribution to the world. Imagine how satisfying it would be to come to the end of your days and look back on your life knowing that you contributed the very best of you, withholding nothing.
2. Your Joy
Another wonderful side effect of doing what you are made to do is that it feels fantastic. The resolute contentment that accompanies doing what you are made to do is a form of peace that is tough to match. Bannister felt it. It was so strong in him that he is famously quoted for saying so. It is, of course, natural that doing what God wired you to do would come with a great sense of satisfaction and joy.
3. Changing others
Never underestimate how influential your contribution will be. I am living proof of that. I was born and raised in South Africa and was always an average swimmer – until one day a coach told me that I had world class talent and could be ranked among the fastest in the world. I believed him and did something about it. That led me all over the world and eventually here, to you. Your strongest contribution can radically affect other people and their outlooks about what is possible in life.
You may wonder what physical talent has to do with your destiny, but it has everything to do with it. If your name is Sir Roger Bannister, Tiger Woods or Allan Kelsey the physical ability God has given you is designed to create influence. That influence allows you to speak into people’s lives and show them, with actions or words what is possible. The use of your ability represents hope, courage and the best of humanity and when you excel in it, God is glorified and you are fulfilling your purpose and His destiny in you.
Next we will continue the series and unpack puzzle piece #2: Character Talent. The good news is you already have some amazing talent here. The bad news is, you may not know it!
Allan Kelsey is the president of Leading Leaders, an identity-based leadership organization in Dallas. At Leading Leaders, his primary focus is to create dramatically improved performance and life satisfaction for people, by helping them understand who they are first and then where they are gifted. Then turning those abilities into their strongest contribution to the world, work, passions and life. You can find him online at www.leadingleaders.net.
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