“Abilities” in the S.H.A.P.E. framework refer to our natural talents and learned skills. A common excuse that people give for not getting involved in ministry according to Rick Warren is, “I just don’t have any abilities to offer.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Nationwide studies show that the average person possesses 500-700 skills!
I remember applying for a job with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Alaska when I was in college. I had to complete a SF 171 Application. I was supposed to list on the SF 171 every job related ability I possessed. For example: I did not list that I could operate a boat. I listed that I was proficient operating a twelve-foot Jon boat with a 7.5 horsepower motor. I also listed that I could operate a twelve-foot Jon boat with a 10 horsepower engine. I also listed that I could . . . you get the picture.
The point is we all have hundreds of skills and natural talents. I have so many in fact that it would be very difficult to name the ones I think will be useful during The World Race.
I met a retired career missionary about 12 years ago. Growing up he wanted to become a Veterinarian but he knew he would never be satisfied tending horses, cows and pets in the middle of Alabama. As it turns out, God called him to the mission field- to Ethiopia in the 1970’s. Much of his work was as mundane as it would have been back in ‘Bama but he was helping people and serving the Lord while treating their herds and flocks. Because he was a well-trained DVM from Auburn he ended up serving several National Parks and Zoo’s on the African Continent. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
In the late 70’s there was a famine on the continent; Ethiopia was the flashpoint. If you’re old school enough, you will remember “We Are the World.” Anyway, this Vet was his denomination’s senior ranking missionary in Ethiopia when the famine started and as such, he was thrust into the position of overseeing all of his denominations massive relief efforts. Well guess what? He worked his way through college and Vet School working at UPS. He had done everything from procurement to distribution to logistics to freight management to driving the trucks.
Like those of us that have bussed a table or flipped a burger he probably thought those skills were a waste of time since all he ever really wanted to do was be a Veterinarian. Did any of those skills and abilities come back to him during the famine? Of course they did. He told me when I met him several years ago that God never wastes an ability. . . .He will tax you for everything you know.
