Christia DeShields

So often we wait.

We wait for the right moment.
The right circumstances.
The right timing, the right tools, the right confidence.

But in the waiting, we sometimes overlook what we already have. We overlook the gifts, ideas, and talents the Lord has already placed in our hands.

Many of us have believed the lie that what we carry is not enough. That it is not developed enough. Not impressive enough. Not worthy of being seen or shared yet. And because of that belief, we delay obedience.

I have fallen into this trap more times than I can count.

I have had ideas sitting in my heart and on my phone, ready to be implemented, but fear of failure kept me frozen. Fear whispered that if I waited just a little longer, I would be more prepared. That I needed more clarity, more confidence, or more affirmation before I could begin.

What I really needed was courage.

For a long time, I didn’t have someone to push me past my hesitation. I didn’t have someone to press send or to gently push me off the cliff and remind me that I could fly.

That changed when I met my husband, Kenny.

He has been one of the greatest gifts God has given me, not just in marriage but in courage. He listens to my wild ideas, even the ones that sound unrealistic or half-formed, like the year I decided to start three businesses in one year. Instead of talking me out of trying, he encourages me to go.

He presses send.

There were times I would literally hand him my phone and ask him to post for me. He became an external voice of courage when my internal voice was full of doubt. Through his encouragement, I started to realize something important. I didn’t need more. I needed to use what was already in my hand.

This reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30.

In this parable, a master entrusts his servants with different amounts of talents before leaving on a journey. One is given five talents, another two, and another one. The servants with five and two talents both multiplied what they were given. But the servant with one talent did something different. He buried it.

When the master returned, the first two servants were praised for their stewardship. But the servant who hid his talent did not hear words of approval. He allowed fear to keep him from using what he had been freely entrusted with.

What stands out to me is this. Every servant was given something.

No one was left empty-handed.

We have all been given at least one talent. There is at least one thing you are good at, or one thing you could develop, if you chose to steward it. The tragedy in the parable is not that the servant had less. It is that he did nothing with what he had.

Fear of failure, fear of inadequacy, comparison, or even distraction can quietly convince us to bury what God never intended to be hidden.

But what if that one talent, that one idea, that one skill already in your hand is the very thing God wants to use to change everything?

Here are five ways to begin using what you already have.

1. Ask the Lord to Show You What’s in Your Hand

Spend time in prayer asking God to reveal the gifts He has already placed within you. Often, our talents are hiding in plain sight. Ask Him where you are being invited to steward, not strive.

2. Ask the People Who Know You Well

Sometimes others can see what we overlook. Ask trusted friends or family what they consistently see you do well. Patterns often reveal calling.

3. Develop What You’ve Been Given

Gifts grow through use. You do not have to be perfect to begin. Stewardship comes before mastery. Small steps taken consistently matter more than waiting for confidence to arrive.

4. Practice Courage in Public

There is a difference between preparation and protection. At some point, growth requires risk. Let yourself be seen before you feel fully ready.

5. Build Accountability Into Your Life

Find someone who will help you press go when fear hesitates. Someone who will refine the idea instead of dismissing it. Courage is often sustained in community.

Using what is in your hand is rarely about having more. It is about trusting God with what you already carry.

Do not bury what Heaven entrusted to you.

That one thing in your hand may be the very seed that multiplies far beyond what you ever imagined.