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To Fulfill Your Destiny, Use Your Gifts

To Fulfill Your Destiny, Use Your Gifts:
"Each of us, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God." (1 Peter 4:10 TEV)
Do you know what God created you for? Do you know what your destiny is?
The first thing you must do to understand your destiny is to recognize the gifts God has given you to use. They include the things you can't control: your parents, your nationality, your race, your first language. They also include your S.H.A.P.E.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These are the things that make you uniquely you.
Now, you are not responsible for the gifts God didn't give you. In other words, if you are not artistically gifted, you are not expected to paint pictures like Rembrandt. But you are responsible for the ones he did give you.
When you get to Heaven, God isn't going to compare you with anyone else, but he will compare you with yourself. What did you do with what you were given? What could you have done if you had trusted God a little bit more? Romans 14:12 says, "Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God" (NIV).
God has given you gifts for a purpose. And you have a responsibility to be a good steward of those gifts - not for selfish uses, but for the good of others. Your gifts are not for your benefit. God gave you gifts for the benefit of other people. Ask yourself, "What has God given me for good to use for good?"
Talk About It
If you haven't already, take the time to learn your S.H.A.P.E. - your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences.
How has God uniquely gifted you?
Are there any gifts with which God has not gifted you but that you have mistakenly spent time pursuing?

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.
This devotional ©2012 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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