our day-to-day lives. In fact, he is smiling right now, rejoicing as you seek to discover the masterpiece you are to him. The Bible says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). This verse helps us understand that if we want to discover our mission or purpose in life, we first need to look at the masterpiece God has made us to be. While self-help books tell you to look within, I’m saying the key to living the life you were meant to live is to look to God and ask him to help you discover your uniqueness. Once you discover who you are, then you can start figuring out what God has planned for you, the specific way he designed you to make a difference in the world for him. Another translation of Ephesians 2:10 uses the word workmanship to describe our uniqueness. It’s from the Greek word poiema, which literally means “work of art,” and is the root of our English word poem. You are a work of God — and nothing but the highest and best comes from his hand. Like the artist who takes scrap metal and turns it into an amazing sculpture, God takes our lives and fashions them into a masterpiece. Consider Journeying with Someone During my research for this book, I was reminded of the value of friendships. Over 90 percent of the ­people I interviewed pointed to some one — not just some principle — who played a vital role in helping them find and fulfill their specific purpose in life. I actually use a whole team of ­people to help keep me accountable to what God is calling me to do on his behalf. If someone comes to mind whom you could invite to begin this lifechanging journey with you, give them a call. The fascinating thing to me is that literally everything God makes is unique—every human, animal, flower, tree, and every blade of grass. He didn’t clone anything. Even identical twins possess their own individual uniqueness. That ought to tell us that our individuality is a sacred trust—and what we do with it is our gift to God. Our best contribution in life—our utmost for his highest—can only be made as we allow God to finish his work in progress and perfect our uniqueness. To live without discovering our uniqueness is to not really live. I think God is heartbroken when his children miss out on the potential he has placed inside of them. ³ had the privilege of personally seeing thousands of ordinary ­people live out their Kingdom Purpose through their confident assurance in God. One of those ­people is John Baker — an ordinary man God has used in extraordinary ways. For many years, John battled an addiction to alcohol. It almost cost him his marriage, his family, and his life. Thankfully, John found God through his local church. That turning point led him to write his senior pastor a lengthy letter, outlining the vision for a ministry he believed God was nudging him to start. He also confessed his feelings of inadequacy about taking on such a task. Not long after, the pastor challenged John to go after his dream. The next year, John launched a new ministry called Celebrate Recovery, a biblical process to help ­people find freedom from addictions through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. For the next ten years, God used John to deliver hundreds of ­people from the grip of destructive lifestyles. In 2004, President George W. Bush publicly recognized John for bringing hope to hurting ­people. Today, Celebrate Recovery is an international ministry helping millions of ­people overcome painful pasts and harmful addictions through the merciful, powerful love of Jesus. If you were to meet John Baker, you would see an average guy who took everything God had made him to be — the positive as well as the painful — and chose to use it for God’s glory. With God’s help and leading, John has made and continues to make a kingdom difference by fulfilling his unique Kingdom Purpose. God is continually looking for ordinary ­people such as John who are willing to let him use them to make a difference for his kingdom. From business executives to bus drivers, from teachers to techies, from stayat-home moms to traveling musicians, from dentists to deli owners, God longs to use ordinary ­people in extraordinary ways. That includes you! Will you accept the challenge to find and carry out your Kingdom Purpose? Remember, the Bible says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the L ord your God will be with you wherever you go” ( Joshua 1:9). With this encouragement, challenge yourself to invest in God’s kingdom in a way that will last long after you are gone. Be a contributor, not a consumer. For some ­people — like John Baker — that means trading in a career for a full-time ministry. For most of us, however, finding and 23

The book you hold in your hand is designed to take you through a proven process, guided by the Holy Spirit, to discover who God created you uniquely to be—so you can start finding and fulfilling God’s specific purpose for your life. gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues (1 Co­rin­thi­ ans 12:28). It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:9 – 10). If you don’t understand your shape, you end up doing things that God never intended or designed you to do. When your gifts don’t meet the role you play in life, you feel like a square peg in a round hole. This is frustrating, both to you and to others. Not only does it produce limited results, it is also an enormous waste of your talents, time, and energy. ⁵ Trap #4: Deception The final trap Satan uses is deception. He manipulates you into believing you have certain gifts that God in fact has not given you — distracting you from putting your true gifts into effect and preventing you from accomplishing what God intended for your life. This deception especially plays itself out when it comes to leadership. John Maxwell has said, “If you think you are a leader, but no one is following you — you are just taking a walk.” ­People like that often expect results that will be blessed by God, yet God never meant for them to be a leader — at least not in the way they imagine. Be wary of Satan’s deception as you begin to share the gifts God has given you. Focus on God so he can reveal the spiritual gifts he has for you and show you how he wants you to use them for his glory. An excellent way to ensure that you don’t fall prey to one of these traps is to ask trustworthy ­people in your life for help and accountability.Here God gives us a clear, beautiful picture to explain his relationship to us. He is the master craftsman; we are like clay in his hands. His role is to carefully shape us; ours is to remain pliable, allowing him to do so. It’s amazing how well the process works when we cooperate! As the prophet Isaiah emphasized: “And yet, Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand” (Isaiah 64:8, NLT). As we allow God’s hands to lovingly mold us, we submit ourselves to his purpose in creating us. God specially designs each of us for doing his will on earth. Each one of us is intentionally shaped to fulfill the specific 25

Based on the purpose of ministry outlined in The Purpose Driven Life, this inspiring guidebook gives you the tools to: With real-life stories, this inspiring and deeply insightful book guides you through a series of challenges that will help you uncover your God-given S.H.A.P.E.--your unique blend of Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences--and apply it in ways that bring confidence, freedom, clarity, and significance to your life. This is a book that requires work - at times it can be rather daunting, presenting multiple questions at a time, which could each take half an hour to really answer thoroughly. One of those people is John Baker—an ordinary man God has used in extraordinary ways. For many years, John battled an addiction to alcohol. It almost cost him his marriage, his family, and his life. Thankfully, John found God through his local church. That turning point led him to write his senior pastor a lengthy letter, outlining the vision for a ministry he believed God was nudging him to start. He also confessed his feelings of inadequacy about taking on such a task. Not long after, the pastor challenged John to go after his dream. Abilities: The set of talents God gave you when you were born, which he also wants you to use to make an impact for him.Uncovering Your S.H.A.P.E. say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’ In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary” (1 Co­rin­thi­ans 12:21 – 22, NLT). None of us should delude ourselves into thinking that the other members of the body of Christ exist to serve us, or that others are important and we are not. The fascinating thing to me is that literally everything God makes is unique — every human, animal, flower, tree, and every blade of grass. He didn’t clone anything. Even identical twins possess their own individual uniqueness. That ought to tell us that our individuality is a sacred trust — and what we do with it is our gift to God. Our best contribution in life — our “utmost for his highest” — can only be made as we allow God to finish his work in progress and perfect our uniqueness. To live without discovering our uniqueness is to not really live. I think God is heartbroken when his children miss out on the potential he has placed inside of them.