Mathew, the writer of a gospel in the Bible echoes Jesus saying “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mathew 9:11-13)

What Jesus shares here is an important principle that we need to understand on our journey to the “Extraordinary”.

Imagine a doctor going to a very healthy person and trying to market his services. Imagine a staff member trying to display his talents on a piano amidst the busy schedule of a company board meeting. Anyone with common sense would agree that even if these are gifted people, their gifts would not be well received, recognized or rewarded in such scenarios. Jesus teaches that one factor that made His ministry fruitful was that whatever He did was directed to where it was necessary. His healing gifts were utilized in the service of the sick. His calls to repentance were directed at sinners. Directing His activity towards the needs He was gifted to meet is the success secret He shares.

Successful businesses understand this principle.

There was a time when movies were the choice when people wanted entertainment. Cine theatres were packed and business was booming. Later came a time when the effort and expenses involved in visiting the theatre became deterrents for many. Movies were still loved by the masses but the way they wanted to watch it changed. This created the demand for video rentals which companies like “Blockbuster LLC ” successfully exploited. But the change of need didn’t stop there. When rental expenditure and fines for overstepping the allowed time limit became problems, they created the need for “On demand video”. Blockbuster LLC, with more than 9000 stores and an 85000 strong workforce, who did not address this need, went bankrupt and the position was filled by “Netflix”. People wanted entertainment in their homes and the ability to watch favorite films over and over again without having to go to the theatre or pay repeatedly. This need was met by Netflix providing entertainment at a monthly subscription fee, for which the amount of shows and cinema that a viewer could watch was unlimited. The company was rewarded by the market with growth to 182 million paid subscriptions worldwide in April 2020 and billions in revenue.

Amazon.com, Inc is another good example of a business that addressed the need for convenient online shopping. The company’s provision of such services has made it the world’s largest online market place and brought it alongside companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft as one of the Big 4 technology companies in the world. This has also made Jeff Bezos who founded Amazon, the richest man in the world with a net worth of 113 billion dollars.

Do you desire to be amongst the “extraordinary”? If your answer is yes, this then is the next step in your journey there – Finding the “Where” to use your gift. That’s where it will be received, recognized and rewarded.

“But how”? – many people ask

Here’s a little more on the subject from the bible.

Ephesians 2:10 teaches that there are “predestined good works” that your creator calls you to do. Resources, recognition and rewards are provided to people for the accomplishment of these “works”. The “predestined good works” prepared before hand by God are what I call “your Maker’s purpose in making you”. The foremost resource for its accomplishment that the Creator provides is His deposit in you which I call the “Gift”. The principle is “What you are gifted for is what you are called to do”

Romans 12:3 – 8 says “ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We can see here that Paul in his usage of phrases like “gift of grace”, “proportion of faith” and “measure of faith” is talking about the special innate ability God gives people which I call the “gift”. The message he conveys here is threefold

1. Different gifts are given to different people. Your gift is your ability to do what many others can’t. Or it might be an empowerment to do what others can, in a better, faster manner. It’s your God given ability to meet needs that exist in your environment.
2. Paul, very successful in the apostolic ministry he was called to, teaches here to not have illusions about yourself and your abilities (not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think) but to have a clear evaluation about your God given abilities (think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith) . He is telling us to identify our gifts.
3. The gifts we have are given to be used to meet different needs in people groups (the body).The need we are to meet can be identified by finding out what we are gifted to do. Many are confused about career choices. Identifying your gift can resolve this confusion too.  Understand “What you are gifted for is what you are called to do”. The employment of your gift will set you among the “extraordinary”.

When we employ this strategy to our thinking we will find the need we are to meet. It will lead us to the problem we are uniquely equipped to solve. It will show us the “predestined good works” that God has prepared beforehand for us to do, the purpose for which our Creator created us.

Start looking around you for problems to be solved. Look for needs that cry out to be met. Every problem that you see will not move you. Every need that catches your eye will not touch your heart. But what you are gifted for will start prodding you to act.

Ask yourself questions about what calls you to act. “Do I have the ability to do what needs to be done?”. “Can I do it better than another?”. “Does this activity have the potential to move me into the realm of the “Extraordinary”?

Step out, try it and evaluate the results. Is what you are doing well received by some people group? Is recognition and reward coming your way?

God’s provision goes where His purposes are met. There might be a period when this provision starts trickling inwards. This is when you increase your ability to handle more by developing your gifts, skill sets, management abilities and the like. But if you are where God wants you, doing what He called you to, He will indeed fulfil the promise of Philippians 4:19 “ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Consistent provision while you go along a line of action can be indicator of your gift being employed where it should be.

Remember, it’s not the gift in you that brings rewards but the problems it solves for others. To quote an anonymous proverb “Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions”

From the book “The pursuit of Extraordinary” by YOHAN PHILIP