Friday, Day #30, Shaped for Serving God.

"You were shaped to serve God.  Each of us was uniquely designed, or "shaped" to do certain things.

Before God created you, he determined what role he wanted you to play on earth.  You are a custom designed masterpiece.

He planned every day of your life to support his shaping process.  "Every day of your life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

Whenever God gives us an assignment, he always equips us with what we need to accomplish it.  This custom combination of capabilities is called your SHAPE;
Spiritual gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experience
SHAPE; Unwrapping your spiritual gifts.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS  You can't earn your spiritual gifts or deserve them...Neither do you get to choose which gifts you'd like to have.

Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others.

God planned it this way so we would need each other.

An unopened gift is worthless.

HEART  Your heart represents the source of all your motivation-what you love to do and what you care about most.  Your heart reveals the real you..  Your heart determines why you say the things you do, why you feel the way you do, and why you act the way you do.

We instinctively care about some things and not about others.  These are clues to where you should be serving.

Another word for heart is passion.  Your emotional heartbeat is the second key to understanding your shape for service.  Don't ignore your interests.

How do you know when you are serving God from your heart?  The first telltale sign is enthusiasm.  When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you or challenge you or check up on you. 

The second characteristic of serving from your heart is effectiveness.  Passion drives perfection.  If you don't care about a task, it is unlikely that you will excel at it.

Remember, the greatest things in life are not things.   Meaning is far more important than money.

Figure out what you love to do-what God gave you a heart to do-and then do it for his glory."  PDL Chapter #30

I have a hard time equating "free will" with  "Every day of your life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."  It sounds like they are contrary.  I think the key is

 "he determined what role he wanted you to play", it doesn't say the role you were going to play.  Since we have free will, we can do whatever we want.  I think that God has lots of things he wants us to do and puts situations and things before us, so we will do his will.  If we don't do his will, his plan is ever changing to get us on track.  It's very interesting to think that I have unique gifts and that I have a predetermined part to play.  My favorite line today is "An unopened gift is worthless."