Day 6 - PRINCIPLES OF EMPOWERMENT - Gift, Ability, & Aptitude
(Download free devotional PDF ebook www.newcovenant.org)
Psalms 139:14-16, "I thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous...You were there while I was being formed...You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.”
Your life will experience the greatest fulfillment, joy and success when doing what you enjoy and do well. What you are and will become are already inside of you. You may already be aware of your gifts, abilities, and aptitudes (also called talent). If not, here are the definitions of those terms:
A GIFT is an ability or potential ability you received from God when you were born. It must be developed. The old saying is somewhat true, “Use it or lose it.”
An ABILITY is a learned skill. This is sometimes mistaken for a gift.
An APTITUDE (talent) is a capacity to do something that may be considered unusual. Aptitude/talent is like potential, without action, it may not amount to much.
“Hard work and an open mind – it’s the only way to realize the potential that is inside every one of us.” ~ Chrissie Wellington
“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
“Creativity or talent, like electricity, is something I don’t understand but something I’m able to harness and use.” ~Maya Angelou
Some people have a gift to sing, draw, or run fast. People with ability through training in singing, drawing or running fast learn to do it better. People with an aptitude to sing, draw, or run fast need to discover it and then develop it.
The concept of talent is overrated. When someone does something very well, we usually say that person did it because of “talent.” Talent is a starting point for some, but people who work hard at something become more successful than people who only have talent. More than anything else, success comes from working with what God has given you, following your heart, being trained, practicing, and doing your best.
Sometimes people think they have no talent, but that’s only because they think talent is something visible like singing and drawing. There are many kinds of talents/aptitudes.
Going to college or taking special training should be based on developing your gifts, acquiring ability, and acting on your aptitudes.
Reflection Question: What God given gifts or aptitudes in your life need further development?
Key insight I gained today:
Today’s action item based on insight:
