Hey everyone, thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

This is the place where Rick Warren brings you uplifting messages from God's Word every day

to help you grow deeper in faith and live a life with purpose.

Today we're continuing in a powerful series called Toolbox for Life. In this series,

Rick teaches us four essential skills that you need to succeed, wherever God has placed you,

whether it's at home, at work, at school, or in your community. These are tools that every

follower of Jesus absolutely needs.

I can't wait to get right into today's message, so here's Rick with the final part of a message

called Maximizing Your Strengths. Now, how do I discover how God shaped me for my purpose

in life?

Two things.

Write these down.

Number one, first, by examining my past.

By examining my past.

One of the ways to know God's will for your future is by looking at your past.

Not at the events that happened to you, but at the things that you were good at.

Galatians 3, verse 4 in the Bible says this, you have experienced, that's what we're talking about,

you've experienced many things.

Where all those experiences wasted, God says, I don't want you to waste your experiences, I want you to learn from them.

The fact is, God has been working in your life since your birth. Actually, even before you were born, God started working in your life

long before you knew there was a God. He started working in your life long before you accepted Christ

into your heart. He's been working to shape you for the purpose he made you for,

...