Our God who created this world loves variety. Go to any paint store and look at sample paint colors—hundreds of every different shade and hue. Do you know that our God made about 300,000 species of beetles (There’s Paul, John, George and Ringo!) In one cubic foot of snow there are some 18 million snowflakes and each one is different. God loves variety.

On the 6th day God created man in His own image. Have you ever sat on a bench in the mall or in the airport and simply watched the people pass by. The variety is astounding. Each and every one of us is unique. There is no one else like us. And God made you! Listen to what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:13-16.

From these verses we discover 3 foundational truths that are going to be the basis of this 6-week series. These truths are

1. You are unique. There is no one in this entire world of 6 billion people like you. There never was nor will there ever be. Our God creates only originals. There are no 2 people with the same finger, foot, or voiceprints.
2. You are wonderfully complex. In verse 13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Your personality and your body all came about by God’s hand over a 9-month period. We are so complex that we are often a mystery to ourselves. In this series we are going to shed some light on the mystery that is you. You are unique and wonderfully and fearfully complex.
3. You were no accident and you are not simply a blob of protoplasm. God created you for a purpose. He designed, molded and put you together like no one else. God loves variety. God planned your genetic codes and selected just the right chromosomes because He wanted you to be you—unique and wonderfully made.

From time to time you have heard me refer to one’s passion, abilities, experiences, and spiritual gifts. Along with your God-created personality these form your unique SHAPE. In Job 10:8 (Good News) we read, “Your hands formed and shaped me.”

In this series we are going to look at how your SHAPE affects every area of your life—your relationships, career, finances, retirement, hobbies, recreation, and the things you enjoy doing. Your SHAPE is an anachronym of 5 different factors.

S refers to your spiritual gifts. The Bible lists some 20 spiritual gifts that God’s Spirit has given in unique combination to each believer. The purpose of these spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ to maturity. So these gifts are not for you rather they are given to you for others. Your spiritual gifts influence your job, your family, your parenting style, and how your serve the Lord through our church.

H is for heart. This is your God-given passion. This is the driving force behind our lives. Every one of us is passionate. It is the emotion that motivates action. The Bible says, “For it is God who works in you, inspiring both the will and the deed, for his own chosen purpose.” We will explore ways to discover what our passions are.

The letter A stands for abilities. 1 Corinthians 12:6, “There are different abilities to perform service.” Research has shown us that the average person has between 500 and 700 different kinds of abilities. You can do more than you think! God has called us to use the abilities he has given us to grow His Kingdom on earth. As a worshipper you are the recipient of many abilities offered you on a Sunday morning. Music abilities. Diaper-changing abilities. Teaching abilities. Ushering abilities. Computer abilities. Baking abilities. Making coffee abilities. Counting abilities. Just to mention a few. These abilities are given to you not by accident but on purpose. “Our competence comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5)

God has given each one of us spiritual gifts, along with a heart of passion, and God has given each of skills, abilities, and us natural talents.

God has also given us unique personalities. This is the P in our SHAPE. Personality is the way you act, the way you feel, and the way you think. Proverbs 4:23, “Your life is shaped by your thoughts.” We are told by those who tell us that there are some 18,000-personality traits. The combinations of these traits are endless. That is why you are not only unique, but wonderfully and fearfully made. God knit these traits together to make you, you! He shaped you for a reason with your specific personality.

Finally the E refers to experiences. The Bible is full of stories how God used people’s experiences to build character and to reveal His will for your life. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans.” God never wastes an experience but uses each one to build us up and perfect us.

We will get into the details of our individual shapes in the coming weeks. Please understand that all 5 of these factors are interrelated. You are a one-of-a-kind combination of spiritual gifts, passion, abilities, personality and personal experiences. Please also know that your shape is fixed and constant. Your basic shape does not change. When you come to know Jesus, God doesn’t change your basic shape; He just changes your direction. As your grow in your faith and Christian walk, God will bring to the surface aspects of your shape that you never knew you had, but it was there all the time.

If you were an easy-going pagan, you will be an easy-going Christian. If you were a people-oriented religious person, you will be a people-person Christian. Being born-again won’t change you from being an “air-head” and you’ll be an “air-head” Christian!

Your shape is also irrepressible. You cannot not be you. You can wish you were someone else and even try to be someone else, but your real self will eventually push through your façade. You are who you are. You are not someone else because God has uniquely fashioned and made you.

So that is what we are going to be looking at in more detail in the coming weeks. We’ve got to ask the question-why? Why should I bother understanding how God has shaped me?

There are 4 benefits for discovering who you are. When you discover your shape, you will understand more how to handle life. The way God has shaped you explains how you deal with confrontation, how you handle power and authority, how you make friends, why you don’t finish tasks, how you handle criticism, why you get close to people or stay away, how you deal with guilt. It’s all explained by the shape God has given you.

1. The first benefit of discovering who you are is that it reduces stress. You can stop comparing yourself to other people. You stop trying to do what you are not created to do. When you know who you are, you can build on your strengths and recognize your limitations. That is a big stress reducer.

2. Second, it increases success. I am not talking about becoming wealthy. Success is knowing God’s will and being in the center of that will. Success is being what God has meant you to be.

3. Third, knowing your shape deepens satisfaction. Trying to be or do something you’re not created to be or do can be very frustrating. Freedom comes from being and doing what you are gifted to be and do, and you actually enjoy it. When you are in harmony with God’s plan for your life, your life is in sync and life is good. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in all things..”

4. Fourth, it builds self-esteem and confidence. From observation and from research, I have come to understand that most people don’t like who they are—their physical features, their temperament and personalities. One of reasons is that 50% of people are in jobs and careers they are not shaped to be in. I believe that genuine self-esteem comes from 2 sources. 1.The truth that you matter to God so much so that He sent Jesus to set us free from sin and self, and that we can know the living God. 2. Genuine self-esteem also comes from the fact that God has an awesome plan that will make a tremendous difference in your life. When you know God’s transforming grace and love and come to know who you are in Christ, then you have a certitude that gives you confidence and a self-esteem flowing out of Jesus’ presence in your life.

Each of you matters to God. That is the whole purpose why Jesus came and when you experience for yourself His Spirit at work in your life, you begin to discover how God has uniquely and wonderfully created you. St. Paul said, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” God loves variety. You are unique and one-of-a-kind. Who are you? Do you know?

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.