You've Got God-Given Strengths...Yeah, YOU!

image from Dayspring

When Holley Gerth mentioned the StrengthsFinder test in her new book You’re Already Amazing, it prompted me to dig out my profile sheet again. Years ago I took the StrengthsFinder test at work as part of a management initiative to encourage team-building and productivity. Last week I grimaced as I reviewed my top five categories: Achiever, Competition, Discipline, Focus and Responsibility. I remember feeling sheepish when we revealed our results in a staff meeting. My officemate, Michaella, had scored high in categories like Empathy, Fairness and Inclusiveness. I was concerned that my co-workers might think I was out to steal their jobs.

I’ve always been efficient, organized, deadline-driven and punctual, but I also always considered those qualities personality traits…or flaws. I certainly didn’t consider them strengths, talents or gifts.

That’s one of the reasons I loved You’re Already Amazing: Holley reminds me that what I consider as mundane and somewhat annoying personality traits are actually strengths, gifts really, given to me purposefully by God:

“It turns out that God has physically wired me with strengths that let me fulfill his purpose for my life. And he helps me do so by strategically creating certain weaknesses, too. It gives ‘power made perfect in weakness’ (see 2 Cor. 12:9) a whole new meaning. Our divinely created strengths (fueled by God’s power) are actually supported by our weaknesses, because if we were good at everything, we wouldn’t focus on anything.”

{Phew! So there’s a divine explanation for why I can’t keep the checkbook balanced!}

Holley also reminds me that just because I have certain God-given strengths doesn’t mean I have to be perfect:

“The goal is not perfection. It’s simply to be in an intimate relationship with Christ each day, to fully embrace who he created us to be, and seek to fulfill the purpose he has for us.”

I also loved how concrete and practical Holley’s book is. Right out of the gate she asks, “Who am I, Really?” and, instead of writing around the answer in eloquent but ultimately not very helpful prose, Holley gives readers the tools to figure out the answer. (She’s a counselor, you know – and I love me a good counseling session!).

You’re Already Amazing is filled with questionnaires, interactive tools and exercises to help the reader discern everything from her strengths, her skills and her social comfort zone to her approach to emotions, where she is on her life map (Egypt, encamped, setting out or the Promised Land) and how she can figure out her next steps.

Here’s a snapshot of what I learned:

My strengths: capable, determined, efficient.

My skills: communicating, maintaining, organizing, writing

My emotional style: head (hands-down, as opposed to heart)

My social comfort zone: One-to-one or one-to-few {as opposed to one-to many – this would have been good to know before I went to the Relevant conference last year and had to retreat to my hotel room a sweating, knee-shaking bundle of overwhelmed nerves!}

My current place on my life map: moving out of encampment (never thought that would happen) and setting out

I just love this stuff!

Really, Holley Gerth’s book You’re Already Amazing is chock-full of wise, graceful advice and hands-on exercises to help the reader explore, discover and grow. I learned a lot about myself and how I might grow in my relationship with God, and I know one thing for sure: you will, too.  

You're Already Amazing by Holley Gerth is on sale right now at Dayspring for $9.

Disclosure: You're Already Amazing is published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, which provided a free copy for my review. The opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains no affiliate links, an I do not earn any compensation for purchases of this book.