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?