Day 31 – Understanding Your Shape
What I’m able to do, God wants me to do. You are the only person on earth who can use your abilities. No one else can play your role, because they don’t have the unique shape that God has given you.
If God hasn’t given you the ability to carry a tune, he isn’t going to expect you to be an opera singer. God will never ask you to dedicate your life to a task you have no talent for. On the other hand, the abilities you do have are a strong indication of what God wants you to do with your life.
They are clues to knowing God’s will for you. If you’re good at designing or recruiting or drawing or organizing, it is a safe assumption that God’s plan for your life includes that skill somehow. God doesn’t waste abilities; he matches our calling and our capabilities.
What I’m able to do, God wants me to do. You are the only person on earth who can use your abilities. No one else can play your role, because they don’t have the unique shape that God has given you. The Bible says that God equips you “with all you need for doing his will.” To
discover God’s will for your life, you should seriously examine what you are good at doing and what you’re not good at.
You have been shaped by your experiences in life, most of which were beyond your control.
God allowed them for his purpose of molding you.” In determining your shape for serving God, you should examine at least six kinds of experiences from your past:
• Family experiences: What did you learn growing up in your family?
• Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?
• Vocational experiences: What jobs have you been most effective in and enjoyed most?
• Spiritual experiences: What have been your most meaningful times with God?
• Ministry experiences: How have you served God in the past?
• Painful experiences: What problems, hurts, thorns, and trials have you learned from?
Using your shape is the secret of both fruitfulness and fulfillment in ministry. You
will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart’s
desire, and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences.The better the fit, the more successful you will be.
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE
Point to Ponder: Nobody else can be me.
Verse to Remember: “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure
to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.”
1 Peter 4:10 (LB)
Question to Consider: What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?
