But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Acknowledging Your Own Strengths
How does this work? Let’s take an easy assessment with two parts.
Part One:
Grab a blank piece of paper and write down the numbers 1 – 10. Get a timer ready for when you start and see how long the activity takes.
Write your top 10 weaknesses next to the numbers.
How long did it take to get all 10 down on paper?
Part Two:
Flip the paper over and write down the numbers 1-10 once again. Get your timer ready for when you start to see how long the activity takes.
Write your top 10 strengths next to the numbers.
How long did it take?
Part One took 1 minute and 35 seconds. Part Two took 5 minutes and I think I duplicated one of the strengths.
Part One felt like I needed to have put 20 and Part Two needed to only go to number 5.
Where is your focus?
Do your focus more on the negative than the positive? When your self-talk is composed of put-downs and angry attempts to change your behavior it will flavor your conversations with others. That is why for many of you it is easier to list the parts of you that need to be changed or improved.
The challenge with this approach is that if you are hard on yourself you can also be hard on others. You tend to speak to others the same way you talk to yourself, although you will probably be a little nicer to others.
Active Expressions of Love and Honor:
- Express gratitude for the work God is doing in your life.
- Trust what God is doing in your life.
- Pray Philippians 1:6 TPT
I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Flipping the Coin
No matter how flat the pancake is, it has two sides. The same is true with a list of weaknesses and strengths.
The following exercise is actually very helpful as well. Take List One and put a potential strength next to each weakness. Here are some of mine so you can see a concrete example:
Weakness – Messy Strength – Creative
Weakness – Interrupt Strength – Eager to help others with my ability to be a wordsmith
Weakness – Too sensitive Strength – Empathy and compassion
Active Expressions of Love and Honor:
- Thank the Lord for the way He made you and ask for help in areas that have been taken to the extreme.
- Ask a good friend you can trust to let you know what they think your strengths are.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for the unique gift mix you have placed within me. I am grateful for the ability to acknowledge my purpose and do what only I can do. Give me wisdom to see myself the way you see me. As I face today, I receive your help to celebrate what you are doing in me and the faith to know that you are faithfully working in me to bring me to maturity. You keep putting on the finishing touches and I am grateful for what You are doing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Click here to read the rest of the #Write28Days series.
Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. As a caregiver and widow she took brave steps forward to fulfill God’s calling on her life. She has now remarried and enjoys her new hubby and spending time with their children and grandchildren. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.
What a great exercise! It’s always so much easier to come up with my weaknesses than my strengths. But God is helping me. Visiting from #Write28Days.
Hulda,
I wonder why that is! God is helping me. Recently, I had the revelation that it really does not bring me closer to others when I play small. It just silences me. I will be praying for you as well and look forward to reading your posts. I am behind so am wanting to write at least two tonight. I get my precious granddaughter all day tomorrow so I want to use my time wisely. You are a blessing!
Karen