Have you ever wondered if God has a specific plan for your life? Do you sometimes feel like you’re stumbling through life without clear direction? The truth is, God didn’t create you to wander aimlessly through life. He created you as His masterpiece with a specific toolbox of gifts and abilities to live out your fullest potential.
What Does It Mean to Be God’s Masterpiece?
According to Ephesians 2:10, “We are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do the works that he intended for us long ago.” This means you’re not an afterthought of God – you were a forethought. From the foundation of the world, God had a plan for your life that He hid in Christ Jesus.
The beautiful truth is that sin didn’t destroy this plan. While we lost our way through sin, we didn’t lose our purpose, design, or potential. When you’re born again, you gain access to the life God originally planned for you – a life hidden safely in Christ from anything that could mess it up.
How Should We Approach Our Work and Calling?
Colossians 3:23-24 gives us a powerful principle: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that the master you are serving is Christ.”
This passage reveals that our work should be an expression of who we are, not a performance for people’s approval. When we work as unto the Lord rather than for human recognition, we shift from performance-based living to being-based living.
What’s the Difference Between Being-Based and Doing-Based Living?
Many people live with the mindset “I am what I do.” Their identity comes from their job, achievements, or roles. But biblical living operates differently – “I do what I am.” This means your work flows from your identity as God’s creation, not the other way around.
In a being-based life:
- Your work becomes an expression, not a performance
- Your efforts become worship, not validation-seeking
- You bring who you are to what you do
- Your identity remains stable even when circumstances change
How Can You See Your God-Given Design?
Living as God’s masterpiece requires three steps: See it, Free it, Be it. The first step is learning to see who God made you to be. As Psalm 139:14 says, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it.”
You can’t be what you can’t see. Many people struggle to live as God’s masterpiece because they don’t see themselves as one. They look at others and think they’re special while viewing themselves as ordinary. But every single person is special in God’s eyes.
What Tools Has God Given You?
God has equipped every believer with three types of gifts that form your masterpiece toolbox:
Service Gifts – Your Natural Abilities
Romans 12:6-8 describes gifts that God has wired into your personality and design. These include:
- Prophecy: The ability to speak truth and present ideas well
- Serving: Meeting practical needs and helping others
- Teaching: Explaining and equipping others effectively
- Encouraging: Inspiring and strengthening people
- Giving: Generosity and sacrificial living
- Leadership: Organizing and directing others
- Mercy: Showing compassion and care
These are abilities God has given you to do certain things well. Every job and career falls under one or a combination of these gifts, expressed in different realms like government, education, business, healthcare, ministry, media, or arts.
Spiritual Gifts – Your Supernatural Empowerment
First Corinthians 12:4-11 describes how the Holy Spirit empowers you to help others supernaturally while using your natural gifts. These include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation.
These gifts aren’t limited to church services – the Holy Spirit wants to work through you every day, wherever you are, in whatever you’re doing. While you’re teaching, serving, doing business, or caring for others, God provides supernatural insight, information, and power beyond your natural abilities.
Skilled Gifts – Your Developed Abilities
Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.” These are gifts you develop through education, experience, and excellence – the training, practice, and wisdom you gain through both successes and failures.
How Can You Discover Your Gifts?
The process of seeing your gifts involves four steps:
1. Revelation – Ask God
Ask God to show you what He’s made you to be good at and how He’s designed you.
2. Investigation – Take Assessments
Use tools and assessments to help identify your natural strengths and abilities.
3. Integration – Align Your Life
Start spending more time, energy, and resources on things you’re gifted at, and less on things you’re not.
4. Confirmation – Ask Others
Ask people who know you well and have your best interests at heart: “What am I good at?” Don’t lead them – just listen to their honest observations.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to begin the process of seeing your God-given design. Start by asking God to reveal how He’s made you, then take time to honestly assess your natural abilities. Consider what energizes you versus what drains you, and pay attention to what others consistently affirm about your strengths.
Remember, you are not an accident or an afterthought. You are God’s masterpiece, created with specific gifts and abilities to represent Him in this world. The life God planned for you is still available – it’s hidden safely in Christ, waiting for you to discover and live it out.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I living from a “being-based” or “doing-based” mindset?
- What activities or roles make me feel most alive and effective?
- How might God want to use my natural gifts in supernatural ways?
- What steps can I take this week to better align my life with how God has designed me?
Your journey toward living as God’s masterpiece begins with seeing yourself as He sees you – fearfully and wonderfully made, equipped with everything you need to fulfill His purposes for your life.
