Embrace Your Superpower!

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1 Corinthians 12:7 – To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

The other day, my brother and I were talking about his uncanny ability to accurately judge a person’s character within a few seconds (minutes?) of meeting him. I’ve always known that he had this talent, but I took it with a grain of salt until he revealed during this particular conversation that sometimes, it was almost as if he could see something dark clinging to certain people who made him more wary. I was taken aback, because this indicated that he’d been gifted with the ability to discern things in the spiritual realm, and that I’d better start heeding his impressions moving forward.

I have to admit that I was just a little jealous. It was like he had this cool superpower! How great is it to be able to discern people’s character before they’ve said a single word!? My gift was so completely different and seemed paltry in comparison. I had this somewhat less exceptional (and not always useful) gift of always seeing the best in people, until their dark or hidden side emerged and the relationship (friendly, romantic, familial, or otherwise) blew up in my face. My penchant for seeing the good has actually made me increasingly wary of opening up to people and trusting them and their permanency in my life.

I pondered this for a while on that day, and eventually realized that this insight into the light in someone’s character wasn’t all bad. In fact, I began to understand that this tendency was a reflection of the gift of empathy—my own superpower! 🙂 I have always been hypersensitive to other people’s feelings, to the point of almost experiencing physical discomfort at the sight of pain in others. I’ve also had a penchant for understanding innately the emotions that certain scenarios and experiences trigger in others, which helps me understand (and empathize with) why they sometimes misguidedly embrace the dark side. This gift, while challenging at times, is the perfect complement to my calling to help and serve. As always, God knows what He’s doing!

We all have our spiritual gifts and talents, although they may manifest in different ways and at different times for different people. It’s easy to look longingly at someone else’s gift and think it’s the best thing in the world; but know that someone else may be looking at you in the exact same way. Your gift is special, useful, and uniquely tailor-made just for you and the calling God has placed on Your life. Embrace your gift, be grateful for it, and use it wisely and in love. After all, it’s pretty cool to have your own God-given superpower. 🙂

Thoughts, reactions, or testimonies? Leave a comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Shine your light!

1 Corinthians 12:4 – There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.