Better Than We Thought: When The Gift Shows Up In Action
This post is part of a short series called Better Than We Thought, flowing out of a recent message I shared at my home church. The heartbeat of this series is simple: often, what God has already given us—faith, calling, formation, even Christ Himself—is deeper, stronger, and more formative than we initially recognize. These reflections are an invitation to slow down, deepen our roots, and learn to see more clearly the work God is already doing in us.
Sometimes the clearest understanding of our gifts doesn’t come because someone names them for us.
It comes because we see them come alive when we step into them.
In Luke 2, there’s a moment where Jesus’ parents lose track of Him while traveling back home from Jerusalem. After days of searching, they find Him in the temple—sitting among the teachers of the law, listening, asking questions, and engaging deeply with what was being discussed.
What’s striking about that moment is not that Jesus surprises the teachers.
It’s that He’s exactly where He belongs.
That scene doesn’t create His calling.
It reveals it.
Jesus doesn’t announce who He is. He doesn’t explain Himself. He simply shows up in a space where His gifts naturally surface. His parents are anxious. The moment feels disruptive. But Jesus is calm, focused, and fully engaged.
Sometimes gift clarity works the same way for us.
We don’t always recognize what God has placed in us through reflection alone. Sometimes it becomes clear when we’re teaching and something clicks. When we’re leading and others are helped. When we’re serving and we feel both stretched and strangely alive.
The gift shows up in motion.
That doesn’t mean every experience confirms a calling. But it does mean that faithful participation often reveals what prolonged analysis cannot. God is not waiting for us to have perfect clarity before He invites us to participate in His work.
Sometimes clarity follows obedience, not the other way around.
If you’re unsure what you’re gifted with, it may not be time to label yourself or define your role. It may be time to pay attention—to notice where God seems to meet you with joy, effectiveness, or a growing sense of responsibility.
Gifts aren’t always discovered in silence.
They are often revealed in faithfulness.
And when the gift shows up in action, it’s an invitation—not to rush ahead—but to continue showing up with humility, curiosity, and trust.
Better Than We Thought is a series shaped by a simple conviction: God is often doing more in us than we currently have the capacity to recognize. Over the coming posts, we’ll continue to explore how gifts are discovered, how roots are formed, and how faith deepens over time. If you’d like to hear the full message that gave shape to these reflections, you can watch it here.
