Purpose Driven Life Day 32

Day 32, June 1st, "Using What God Gave You"

    - "What you are is God's gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God." (Rick Warren).  God deserves our very best. He deserves 110%. We need to make the most of what God has given us. We should not worry about the abilities we don't have and focus on the abilities we do have. "When you attempt to serve God in ways you're not shaped to serve, it feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole." (Rick Warren). I experienced this when I was a teacher. Teaching is not what I am called to do, at least not at the high school level. I was forcing myself into a position that did not fit. We have to develop our shape to its full potential but first you have to understand what your shape is.

DISCOVER YOUR SHAPE
    - Ephesians 5:17 says, "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." Never accept a position without first praying to God about it. I have learned from experience on this and for my next job after I graduate, I will be praying and fasting for guidance from God. God will guide you and show you where he wants you.
*Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities*

     - Start by making a list of your abilities. Then ask other people what they think you are good at. Tell them to be honest with you and not try and tell you what you want to hear. "Spiritual gifts and natural abilities are always confirmed by others." (Rick Warren). Ask the people who are close to you what they think you are good at, they know you better than yourself sometimes. Look at areas of your life where you have been successful at in the past. The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment in different areas of service. What better way then to experiment then at your local church. You can discover what you like and do not like by serving in different areas of ministry around the church. We all have dozens of hidden abilities and gifts we haven't discovered because we haven't tried. It is important to volunteer in an area you are interested to understand if you enjoy that area or not. If it doesn't work out its not a failure, its an experiment. Just like with me and teaching. I now know I don't want to teach, its not a failure, it was an experiment. By teaching I discovered I wanted to be a physical therapist assistant.
*Consider your heart and your personality*
     - It is important to get feedback from those that know us best. Ask yourself, when do you feel fully alive? What do you enjoy doing? When does the time fly by? For me the time flies by at clinical's for physical therapy. I enjoy myself. Time flew by when I was with my ex. Time flew by when I hung out with his niece and nephew. What does this tell me, this tells me I will enjoy being a wife, I will enjoy having kids, and physical therapy is the career field I'm designed for.
*Examine your experiences and extract lessons you have learned*
     - "Forgotten experiences are worthless; that's a good reason to keep a spiritual journal." (Rick Warren). Having a spiritual journal has been so beneficial to me but I'm going to be honest I need to review it more so that I learn from my mistakes. We rarely see God's purpose in our pain. How often does this happen to you? I know for me it happens a lot. I rarely see God's purpose in my pain but I know there is a purpose. Pastor Brent Purvis at Cascade Hills Church in Columbus, GA said, the answer to prayer is often found in a problem. Often times the problem gets bigger but God is a never changing God. Somethings are answered differently, He may send us on a different route but we need to continue to ask God for what we want. His methods are not up to us. Sometimes God feeds us the same thing over and over until we are fully dependent on him. In my life I see this often. I have been praying for a spouse sense before I can remember. I'm almost 28 and have no one even on the horizon. I thought I was with the guy I was going to marry and then bam, God took him away from me. God answered my prayers with a problem but there is still a purpose in the pain. John 13:7 says, "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'"

ACCEPTING AND ENJOYING YOUR SHAPE

   - We need to celebrate and accept the shape that God has given us. We also need to recognize our limitations. "When we try to overextend our ministry and reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress." (Rick Warren). Teaching caused me the most stress I've ever had in my life. I had stress headaches constantly. Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God set before us." Satan will try to steal the joy of service from us in two ways:
   1. By tempting you to compare your ministry with others
   2. By tempting you to conform your ministry to the expectations of others
It is so important that we not compare ourselves to others. It's so hard to accomplish this with social media. Galatians 6:4 says, "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else." When we compare ourselves to others we will always be able to find someone who seems to be doing a better job than us and we will become discouraged. We will so always be able to find someone who doesn't seem as effective as us and we will become full of pride. People who do not understand your shape will criticize you and try to get you to conform to what they think you should be doing. We need to avoid comparisons, resist exaggeration, and seek only God's commendation. If you are having trouble with comparing yourself to others, get off social media.

KEEP DEVELOPING YOUR SHAPE 
    - It is important that we cultivate our gifts and abilities, keep our heart aflame, grow our character and personality, and broaden our experiences so we our more effective in our service. If we don't use our skills we will lose them. We need to use the ability we have and God will continue to increase it. We need to stretch ourselves and learn all we can. We need to take advantage of every training opportunity. Go to that leadership conference. Volunteer at that soup kitchen. Read the personal growth books. Develop yourself to be the best shape God has given you.

Point to Ponder: God deserves my best.
Verse to Remember: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
Question to Consider: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?

Purpose Driven Life Day 31

Day 31, May 31st, "Understanding Your Shape"
    - Psalm 139:13 says, "You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb." God designed each one of us unique, there will never be a duplicate. When God created us He broke the mold. "...no one else on earth will ever be able to play the role God planned for you." (Rick Warren). We each have a unique contribution of natural abilities and spiritual gifts. Yesterday we went over the first two letters of SHAPE, today we will go over the last three.

SHAPE: APPLYING YOUR ABILITIES
    We are all born with natural talents. We all have a different combination of natural talents. Our natural talents are just as important as our spiritual gifts because they both come from God.
    *All of our abilities come from God*
          - "Even abilities used to sin are God given; they are just being misused or abused." (Rick Warren). It is important that we identify and release our abilities for serving God. We need to make sure we use our abilities for good and not for bad.
    *Every ability can be used for God's glory*

         - 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Anything we do we can do it to bring glory to God. There is a place in your local church where your abilities can shine and make a difference. It is important for us to find where we can have our abilities shine. It may be working in the children's ministry, greeting first time guests, or being a prayer partner. 1 Corinthians 12:6 says, "Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits." Find a place in your church where you can let your natural abilities shine.
     *What I'm able to do, God wants me to do*
         - We are the only person on earth that can use your abilities. No one else can play your role, its unique. This is why it is so important to discover what you are good at and what you are not good at and do it. "God will never ask you to dedicate your life to a task you have no talent in." (Rick Warren). What you are good at is an indication of what God's will for you is. "God doesn't waste abilities; he matches our calling and our capabilities." (Rick Warren). The abilities that God gives us are not just given to you to make a living but also to work in ministry. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." If we do not use our gifts and abilities that God has given to serve one another we are being selfish.

SHAPE: USING YOUR PERSONALITY

    - Each of of us are unique. God breaks the mold after he creates us. There is no one exactly like you. The church needs all kinds of people to balance the church. Some of us may have the same spiritual gifts but we use them differently. "You can learn from examples of others, but you must filter what you learn through your shape." (Rick Warren). Our different personalities reflect God's light in different colors and patterns. Some one may have the spiritual gift of giving and give financially and another person may have the same spiritual gift of giving and give their time. "When you minister in a manner consistent with the personality God gave you, you experience fulfillment, satisfaction, and fruitfulness." (Rick Warren). Use your personality, natural abilities, and spiritual gifts and you will be satisfied.

SHAPE: EMPLOYING YOUR EXPERIENCES
    - We are all shaped by our experiences. Most of our
experiences are beyond our control. There are six kinds of experiences we go through:
    1. Family experiences - What did you learn growing up? How were you raised?
    2. Educational experiences - How much education do you have? What did you study? What was your favorite subject? How much have you grown educational through personal growth?
    3. Vocational experiences - What jobs have you had? What jobs were you good at and enjoyed?
    4. Spiritual experiences - When were the most meaningful times you had with God?
    5. Ministry experiences - In what ways have you served God in the past?
    6. Painful experiences - What did you learn from your problems, hurts, and trials?
   - God uses our painful experiences to prepare us most for ministry (God's work). "God never waste a hurt. Your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt." (Rick Warren). My greatest hurts thus far in life have led me to be a better christian. Each one has helped me grow to be a better person as painful as they have been. 2 Corinthians 1:4 says, "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." "The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life - the ones you've wanted to hide and forget - are the experiences God wants to use to help others." (Rick Warren). Each experience we go through we can use to help someone else. People are more encouraged when we share how God's grace helped us in weakness than when we brag about our strengths. Its more beneficial to show others what we have gone through and overcome rather than to

only show people are strengths. This is why social media is so bad. People only post themselves at their best so we get a false image in our head and think we are less of a person because all we see is everyone else's life going perfect. "Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you." (Alders Huxley). We need to use our pain to help others. Turn our negatives into positives by helping others grow from our mistakes and painful experiences.

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 blessing." 1 Peter 4:10
Question to Consider: What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?

Purpose Driven Life Day 30

Day 30, May 30th, "Shaped for Serving God"

    - God formed everyone and everything with a special area of expertise. Before each of us was created, God decided what role He wanted us to play on earth. Each one of us was made for a specific ministry. "You are not an assembly-line product, mass produced without thought. You are a custom-designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece." (Rick Warren). God planned every day of our lives to support His shaping process. Nothing that happens in our life is insignificant, nothing. "God never waste anything. He would not give you abilities, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences unless He intended to use them for His glory." (Rick Warren). Even our hardest days are planned and for a reason. They help shape us to serve God better.

HOW GOD SHAPES YOU FOR MINISTRY
    - When God gives us an assignment He ALWAYS equips us with what we need to accomplish it. This is so very true. This is how I know physical therapy is my calling. He has equipped me with everything I need to accomplish and succeed in school. After my break-up I was a complete wreck but God equipped me with the knowledge to pass all my tests and succeed. Without him, I know I would not have passed my last semester of classes. The SHAPE principle is the combination of capabilities God shapes us with:

       S - Spiritual Gifts
       H - Heart
       A - Abilities
       P - Personality
       E - Experience
We will go over the first two today and the other three tomorrow.

SHAPE: UNWRAPPING YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS

    - God gives every believer spiritual gifts. God gives each believer "God-empowered" gifts for serving Him and only believers get them. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, "But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means." We don't earn our spiritual gifts or deserve them. God gives them to us as an expression of His grace to us. We don't get to pick our spiritual gifts. God determines which ones he gives us. He does not give any of us just one single gift and He does not give every spiritual gift to everyone. If we all had every spiritual gift, we wouldn't need anyone else. God wants us to depend on others. God gives us each a unique set of spiritual gifts to benefit others. 1 Corinthians 12:7 says, "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." If others don't use their gifts we are cheated, if we don't use our gifts we are cheating others. There are two problems that can arise:
    1. Gift-envy - This happens when we get jealous of the gifts others have. We are dissatisfied with what we have and want what others have.
    2. Gift projection - This happens when we expect everyone to have the same gifts as we have. We expect everyone to be as passionate as we are about things.

SHAPE: LISTENING TO YOUR HEART
    - We each have a unique bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections that

God has given us. Our heart is the source of all our motivations. Your heart reveals the REAL you, not what others think of you or what circumstances force you to be. Each of us have a unique heartbeat just like each of us have a unique fingerprint. We also have a emotional heartbeat, this is why each of us are passionate about certain things. Our passions reveal the nature of our heart. They are also clues to what we should be doing. We need to not ignore our interests. We need to see how they can be used for God's glory. Their is a reason that we love doing these things. We need to use our natural interests and passions to serve God. This blog for example. I enjoy reading and writing. I am passionate about it. I am using my natural interests to serve God. Also physical therapy, I am good at helping others and rehabbing people to make them stronger and get back to living their lives. When I am in a bad mood and go to clinical, my mood changes, I become happy. How do we know when we are serving God from our heart?
   1. Enthusiasm - We don't need to be motivated to do it. We want to do it. We get enjoyment out of it . It brings us pleasure.
   2. Effectiveness - We are good at it. "Passion drives perfection." (Rick Warren).
"The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit." (Rick Warren). Look at those that are highest in the field you are working in, do they love what they are doing? I bet they do. "Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your heart. Meaning is far more important than money." (Rick Warren). This is very true. I did not have a heart for teaching, I was miserable but I was making the most money I ever made in my life. It doesn't matter, I didn't have the heart for it. I chose to quit and find something I enjoy. Yes, the last two years have been tight on money but God has always provided and I'm about to graduate in a field that I love and will make more money in then I did as a teacher. Follow your heart, not the money. When you serve and find your passion the money will follow. Proverbs 15:16 says, "Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil." We can have a lot to live on and still nothing to live for. Find what you are passionate about and go out and serve God with your abilities He has given you. If you are having trouble understanding where God wants you take the next step and fast about it.

Point to Ponder: I was shaped to serve God.
Verse to Remember: "God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all." 1 Corinthians 12:6
Question to Remember: In what way can I see myself passionately serving other and loving it?