You can be passionate about something all you want, but just because something is your passion that does not necessarily mean that you are gifted in that area. People (and by people I mean myself included) often pursue their passions in life – driven solely by their feelings – without ever taking into consideration their God-given gifts.

Before I go any further, let me be clear: I am not saying that you shouldn’t pursue your passions, but instead that we each have talents and abilities we’ve been gifted with for a reason. Furthermore, we often choose to ferociously drive forward at full steam towards our passions without ever considering how our gifts and passions overlap or how to align them with one another so that we may become everything we were created to become.

In other words, you can be passionate about becoming a professional basketball player all you want, but if you are not gifted as a basketball player in any way, shape or form you are probably doing yourself a disservice by relentlessly trying to become a professional basketball player. Now, that is not to say that hard work can’t get you there or even pave the way for another opportunity in the same field. Instead, what I’m trying to say is that if we seek and reflect on our gifts and use our passion to fuel us, we might be better equipped to reach our full potential.

Yes, I’m guilty. Driven by passion, without first trying to unwrap the gifts I’ve been given.

Hmmm… Now it’s time to see with different eyes and discover those gifts.

What are your gifts? Are you putting them to use?