But God gave you those abilities for a reason: He wants you to use them to serve him and others! There are three ways you can start engaging your abilities so that they are being used for good and for God’s glory.

1. Estimate your abilities.
Do an assessment of your abilities. What are you good at? Make a list. If there’s one thing I could say to young people today to prepare for their future, this is it: Know your strengths and weaknesses. Consider the capabilities God has given you. If you have trouble identifying your abilities, ask someone close to you for help!

2. Dedicate your abilities.
“Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him” (Romans 12:1 GNT). Tell God, “You gave me these abilities. Now I’m going to give them back to you. I want to use them for the purpose for which you gave them to me.”

3. Cultivate your abilities.
That means practice, improve, sharpen, and develop. Any ability God has given you can be improved with use. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (NIV).

How do you get skill? You practice. You sharpen your ax and work smarter, not harder. Sharpening your abilities—your aptitudes, your skills—is a spiritual responsibility.

God has invested enormously in you. First, he created you. Second, he shaped you with spiritual gifts and a unique personality. Then, he sent Jesus to die for you.

God has made an incredible investment in your life! And he expects a return on the investment. He’s going to ask you one day, “What did you do with what you were given? How did you use your abilities to honor me, to serve others, to make a living, and to be an example?”

Jesus says, “When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed” (Luke 12:43 NCV).

God wants to bless your life! When God looks at you, he wants to see you using your abilities in the ways he intended so that you will experience his blessing.