09/09/2026
CAN A GIFT YOU NEVER USED... COME BACK?
A dear friend of mine asked me something recently while studying Matthew 25 that I think a lot of us have quietly wondered too:
"The question is in the line of, If a talent left unused can be lost, does that mean I could have lost mine? And is it even possible for someone to have no gifts at all?" Of course I rephrased, these weren't her exact words.
Let's sit with this honestly.
In the parable, the servant who buried his one talent didn't lose it because it disappeared. He lost it because he never engaged it. Fear made him bury what was meant to be invested. The master didn't take something that was never there. He took back something that was never used.
That's the real warning in Matthew 25. Not "you might not have a gift." But "your gift was never meant to sit still."
So, is it possible to be without gifts and talents at all?
No! I don't believe that's possible. And this is not because I'm being generous with the definition of "gift" but because of who gave it. The Bible says that every good gift comes from God (James 1:17), and He doesn't make exceptions. He didn't create anyone empty-handed.
Some gifts are loud and obvious e.g singing, teaching, leading.
Others are quiet and easy to overlook e.g discernment, comfort, patience, the ability to make people feel safe. However, quiet doesn't mean absence.
Now, can a gift that's been buried, neglected, or unused for years come back?
I believe yes. What looks "lost" is often just dormant, not destroyed. A muscle that hasn't been used gets weak, not gone. The same grace that gave you the gift in the first place is more than able to reawaken it, but reawakening usually requires the very thing that was missing before: USE! Small, consistent, imperfect use.
You don't recover a buried gift by waiting for a dramatic moment. You recover it the same way the other two servants grew theirs by taking the risk of using what you have, even in small measure, instead of protecting it out of fear.
So if you've been wondering whether it's too late, or whether you were simply skipped over when gifts were being handed out, you weren't. You just haven't fully found or reactivated yours yet.
That's not the same as not having one.
What's a gift or talent you know you've had, but haven't used in a while? What's kept you from picking it back up? Tell me below, let's talk about it. 👇
© Elizabeth Okemefuna
Self Discovery Coach| Mind Detox Guide
