Spiritual Gifts: Why You Should Covet Them This Year
Dec 30, 2025Summary
As we approach a new year, most resolutions focus on our bodies or bank accounts. But what if you focused on asking for spiritual gifts that could completely transform your walk with God? In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson challenges the way we view our weaknesses and invites you to pray for the specific divine tools you need to succeed.
We dive deep into the surprising biblical command to "covet earnestly the best gifts," flipping the script on what it means to desire more from God. Tamara explores the Parable of the Talents, revealing why fear is the enemy of growth and why burying your potential is more dangerous than trying and failing. If you have been hesitant about asking for spiritual gifts because you feel inadequate, this conversation will change your perspective. You’ll learn how your deepest struggles are actually invitations to receive God's power. Tune in to discover why asking for spiritual gifts is the most powerful resolution you can make for 2026!
Episode Takeaways
- The "Good" Kind of Coveting: While we are taught not to covet our neighbor's possessions, scripture (1 Corinthians 12:31) actually commands us to "covet earnestly the best gifts" from God to help us fulfill our divine missions.
- Fear Buries Potential: In the Parable of the Talents, the tragedy wasn't that the servant had fewer talents, but that fear caused him to bury what he had. God rewards the effort of using what you have, not just the outcome.
- Weaknesses are Clues: Religious leader George Q. Cannon taught that if we have an imperfection (like anger), it is our duty to pray for the specific spiritual gift that counteracts it (like charity). Your weakness is a roadmap for what to pray for.
- God Gives According to Ability: God knows your season of life and your capacity. He doesn't expect you to run faster than you have strength, but He does expect you to step out of the "corner of the classroom" and shine.
Free Giveaway
Are you ready to identify which gifts God has given you and which ones you need to ask for in 2026? Download our FREE Guide: Discerning My Gifts & Strengths. It’s filled with prompts to help you see yourself as God sees you. 👉 Download the Guide Here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/gKL63TgB
Reflection Questions
- What is one "scary" thing you feel called to do this year, and what specific spiritual gift do you need to accomplish it?
- Look at your biggest weakness from the past year. If you flipped the script, what is the opposite spiritual gift you should be praying for?
- Have you ever "buried" a talent because of fear? What is one small step you can take to unearth it this week?
- How does knowing that God dispenses gifts "according to your ability" change the pressure you feel to perform?
Transcript
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:00.720 - 00:00:44.480
Ladies, we often make resolutions that impact. Our bank account or our bodies.
But I have a thought for you. As we approach this new year, what if you instead focused on improving your spirit?
Today, we're talking all about spiritual gifts, but we're not talking about the ones you think you have. We're talking about the ones you may be too scared to ask for.
You know what I'm talking about, right? Things that you'd love to ask God, but you're not sure if you should? Maybe. But by the end of today's episode. You will see how asking for those just might be a very good thing. Stay tuned.
Intro/Outro
00:00:46.720 - 00:01:39.320
Are you a woman who knows God is calling you to something more, but you're unsure where to start or how to grow it into something impactful? You are not alone, and you're in the right place.
Welcome to the Arise Women of God Podcast, a show for Christian women who feel called to shine his light and step into their divine purpose.
Each week, you'll hear stories of faithful women, both from the Bible and today, who heard God's voice and chose to say yes even when it felt uncomfortable or uncertain, to step with faith into the unknown. You'll walk away with encouragement, spiritual insight, and practical steps to follow those holy promptings in your own life.
So let's arise together as women warriors of light. Let's do it God's way. God strong.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:01:43.320 - 00:03:25.680
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God Podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Andersen, and. I hope you are as excited as.
I am to welcome in a new year this week, 2026. It sounds so weird to say, right? Today we are talking about spiritual gifts, even the ones you may be too scared to ask for.
I'm going to first show you a scripture that tells us to actually covet something and why it's a good thing. Next, we're going to look at the parable of the talents and why burying a gift may be more dangerous than you think.
And finally, I'm going to share a quote from a religious leader that completely flips the script on how we view our weaknesses. So let's kick it off with the command to covet. All right, guys, you know when we think of the word covet, we usually think back to the Ten Commandments in.
The Old Testament, and it's Thou shalt not covet. And he tells us what things we shouldn't covet.
But I want you to listen to a discussion we had about a verse in First Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 31, which says covet earnestly. The best gifts. Listen to this conversation from a workshop.
Where we talked about spiritual gifts in a biblical context. Covet means desire something that belongs to another person.
But here in the scripture, in this very verse, God is telling us that we need to covet the best gifts. And so I thought I'd ask you your insights on this. Why do you think he says it that way?
Karalee Anjewierden
00:03:27.200 - 00:03:28.800
Maybe it's reverse psychology.
Wendi Christensen
00:03:31.920 - 00:03:33.200
That's a good one, Kari.
Jackie Parker
00:03:36.480 - 00:04:00.760
I don't know.
I think it goes back to what I was talking about before, that it's easy for us to just shy away and not want to own it and not want to develop it. And so he's. He's really trying to give us strong language to say, nope, this is one instance where we go the.
We go the opposite way, where we are going to chase after this and own it and become it.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:04:01.639 - 00:04:03.040
Yeah, okay.
Karalee Anjewierden
00:04:03.040 - 00:05:10.500
So I had a conversation with this woman, and we were talking about gifts that we need to accomplish the things God has asked us to do.
And she started talking about bringing people to her table to find someone who had the gifts that she needed to help her know what she needed to do to move forward. And being a very spiritual woman, Harriet Tubman came to mind.
She needed the gifts that Harriet Tubman had of gathering people and being able to lead people. And this fits there. If we want to truly do what God has asked us to do, we need those best gifts.
And how better to get them than to seek them among those who already possess them? Not that we covet them, but like Jackie was saying, that we passionately go forward trying to obtain whatever it is that God needs us to have.
Wendi Christensen
00:05:12.420 - 00:06:44.280
We're not even. Not even compared to them. Because you. I mean, if you look at the verses you just had, that.
We all are blessed with these gifts, but sometimes we just don't know we have them. But I think, as you observe, oh, they have a gift. I love that gift. Like, they're super intuitive. They're really, you know, discerning.
Well, we can pray for that gift. Like, we all have access to that gift. It's like, my. I got a letter. My daughter has a sweet missionary friend.
She's on a mission right now down in Tennessee. I think she was like, hey, how do you. I know that you've been able to. Like, you talked about being able to tune into people's energy.
She like, can you teach me how to do that? Or can you tell me how you do that? How do you tune into people's energy?
And I Was like, I had to sit there and think about it for a minute because I was responding to her this morning. And so I was like, how do I do that?
But I thought, isn't that beautiful that she's seeking a gift and she's asking someone that she knows has that gift, how do you do that? And then I know she'll also put it to prayer, right? So. And she's not comparing or like, I'm not. As you know, there's no comparison at all.
She's like, she's earnestly seeking a gift. And I'm like, yeah, you can have this, too. Yeah, this is. These are the step or a few things that I've done to help develop it.
And I'd love to hear what you're going to do and doing. So I kind of see it, I guess, is that, that we see those beautiful gifts around us and other people, and then seek for them too, and ask for them.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:06:45.160 - 00:14:55.550
Love that. So good. One of the questions I asked myself when I. When I looked at this, who does. Who do the best gifts belong to? The best gifts all belong to the.
Father of Lights, right? They belong to God.
And so what God is saying is, ask me. I'm the one to whom all the gifts belong.
Ask me for these gifts that you want to overcome your weaknesses, to overcome, to surmount your obstacles, to grow into this next phase of life. But I want you to covet them from me, not perhaps from other people.
But he's going to give them to us so that we can bless the world in a way that is unique to us. I love that God wants us to want these gifts, and he wants to give them to us. Right. I want you to now jump with.
Me to Matthew 25 and the parable of the Talents. This was given right after the parable of the ten Virgins. And I love that because this means.
It'S applicable to our day. Because the parable of the 10 virgins is especially for us as we prepare for Christ's second coming.
And in this parable, the Master gave five talents to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third servant. And this is what it says I love in verse 15 to every man, and I'll say woman, according to his several abilities.
What I love about this is God knew exactly who needed which talents and how many of them to give. He knew how busy people were. He knew how busy you were. He knows how busy I am. He knew what season of life they were in.
Now, the beauty of this is the. Servant that got five talents, went to.
Work, got another five talents. So he multiplied what God gave him or her. The servant who received two talents multiplied it and got another two.
So now this servant had four talents. Then the servant who had one. We get to this one, and, oh, I've talked about this servant before, because my heart goes out to the servant.
The reason this servant got his talent buried, it was because he was afraid. And you and I both know that there's been times in life when God gives us something and we're afraid to use it. We're afraid to do something with it.
We want to stay tucked in our little corner of the world and not shine our light because it's too scary to step out. And I relate to this. I know how that feels because that's how I felt when God asked me to start podcasting.
I'm like, like, oh, no, you forget sixth grade. Tamara was the one who wanted to stay in the corner of the classroom and not be noticed. But God's like, tamara, you're not in sixth grade anymore.
You're not going to get bullied if you step out and speak up. And I had to lean into him and trust that he would bless and magnify me to be able to podcast, even though it was really, really scary.
So I totally relate to this servant with one talent, but I leaned into God, and I think that's the key here. The tragedy really wasn't that the servant who got one talent got less talents. It's that he buried it.
Ladies, as Christian women, we cannot bury our gifts. We're in an all hands on deck situation here before the return of our Savior Jesus Christ. And.
And he needs us to shine our unique talents to the world. You are going to reach people that I can't reach, and your friend is going to reach someone that neither you nor I can reach.
And so we need to love and support one another as we step into and do what God needs us to do. For some, it's ministering in their families. For some, it's ministering at work.
For others, it's ministering to little children, to teenagers, to adults, to whoever God places on your mind and heart. And if you are feeling called to a mission but feel inadequate, please know you're not alone.
But please also know that this is your invitation to ask for the gift that you are missing. I'd like to conclude this episode with this quote by religious leader George Q. Cannon regarding weaknesses and gifts.
So if you're struggling for weaknesses this year, this quote is for You. If you're struggling with inadequacies, this quote is for you.
If you're struggling with looking at who you think you can become and it's scary, this quote is for you.
Okay, so now we're to this awesome quote, and it's so, so good. Religious leader George Q. Cannon said, if any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perf. Have I imperfections?
I am full of them. What is my duty to pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections?
If I'm an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity which suffereth long and is kind. God has promised to give strength to correct these things and to give gifts. That will eradicate them.
Isn't that beautiful?
He's promised us to give us gifts to help us overcome these weaknesses, especially when it has to do with developing ourselves and our callings and shining his light. I. I have gained a firm testimony of that.
So, ladies, as we wrap up this podcast, what do you need to pray for this year? What gift do you need that will move you forward and help you multiply talents?
You know God isn't going to place something on your heart that he's not going to qualify you to do, so ask for that gift that you need. The gift of courage, the gift of faith, the gift of perhaps a mentor to guide you through the journey that you're on.
This is a good time to do that self assessment as we enter a new year, both of how you've grown and how God has blessed you to grow in the past year.
Sometimes writing that down can be beneficial to your soul because you're like, oh, when I started off this year, this is where I was and look at who I am now. So take some time and do a little self assessment and reflection on where you were at the beginning of the year.
Maybe flip through the pictures in your phone, look at journal entries, look at how God has blessed you to grow this year. Because often the things that we've struggled with have been the biggest opportunities for growth.
And then assess where you want to go and where your weaknesses may be, because that may be the biggest clue as to what gift you can ask for as we enter 2026. To figure that out, we also have a free download on the Women warriors of Light website, Discerning My Gifts and Strength.
It's available in the shop on the website.
I'll drop the link below, so be sure to grab that and it will help you as you discern where you want to go with your gifts this coming year with God's help. And once you know your gift, what happens if you struggle with using it? You'll want to stay tuned for next.
Week'S episode where we talk about why your biggest struggle might be your greatest gift. Till next week, May God bless you to do it. God's Way, God Strong.
Intro/Outro
00:14:57.310 - 00:15:52.900
Thanks for tuning in to the Arise Women of God podcast, brought to you by Women warriors of Light.
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May you arise, walk God's way and stand God Strong.
