God Shaped You for Work

In architecture, form follows function. Tell me what you want to use the building for, and I’ll tell you how to build it. But in human beings, it’s the exact opposite. Function follows form.

Figure out how God shaped you and how he wired you. Learn what he’s given you in your SHAPE—your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. Then you’ll know what you’re supposed to do with your life.

God doesn’t put people on Earth without giving them a life’s work. Your life’s work may be your job, your career, or how you serve your community. Work is a part of God’s purpose for your life.

You’re not on this planet just to be a placeholder and use up resources. You’re here to make a contribution. Your contribution is based on your SHAPE.

God never gives you work to do without giving you the means to do it. That’s why you have spiritual gifts and the other parts of your SHAPE. But they’re lying dormant in you until you decide to discover them and develop them.

Many surveys have shown most Americans are in the wrong job; they’re in jobs they’re not shaped to do! They’re in jobs primarily for economic reasons or for status—not because the job is fulfilling, they’re good at it, or they’re shaped for it.

If you’re in a job that’s not using the SHAPE God has given you, then ask him to open the door to another job. Life is too short not to do work that fits with who you were made to be. While you are waiting, look for ways to serve your community in a way that expresses your SHAPE.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” (GW).

Knowing your SHAPE helps you answers some of life’s biggest questions: What’s God’s will for my life? What does God want me to do with my life? What kind of job or career should I have? What should be my ministry? What should be my mission in the world?

Your SHAPE explains where you should be headed. Your SHAPE helps shape your work.