The letter 'E' stands for experience. How can we know God's will for our life? Paul answers, 'Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you' (Romans 12:2 NLT). The word 'transform' means 'to change in shape'.

A diamond is created through unrelenting pressure over a long period of time, transforming it into something beautiful. The psalmist said, 'I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word....My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees' (Psalm 119:67, 71 NLT). Sometimes, our negative experiences can teach us how to do things right. And, we can use our experiences to declare God's truth even stronger. From prison, Paul wrote, 'I want you to know...that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the Gospel' (Philippians 1:12 NIV). Then he added: 'I will speak very boldly and honour Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I'll have even more' (Philippians 1:20-21 GWT).

God specialises in using our experiences to shape our lives - let's seek his will for our lives to be filled with his value, beauty and order.

So what now? Your life's experiences transform you and point you towards your life's purpose. Even the bad experiences can have value. Give all your experiences to God to make your life unique and meaningful!

The letter 'P' stands for personality. Many companies do personality profiles to find potential employees' strengths and weaknesses. There are many personality types: some types are compassionate towards people, others more competitive. Some are hard-driving, succeed-at-all-costs types whilst others have a more nurturing temperament. Whatever our particular attributes, let's not envy others' personalities. That's like saying to God, 'I'm not good enough. You made a mistake when you made me.'

God will help us to strengthen our character or change our behaviour, but he'll never change our uniquely-designed personality. Instead, he'll help us to recognise it, love it and maximise its strengths.

Before God gave us our assignment, he designed us. He gave us the right personality to fulfil his plan for our life. So instead of putting ourselves down or wishing we had a different temperament, let's say with the psalmist, 'You...knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous - how well I know it' (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT).

So what now? Thank God for your unique personality. God knows and values you as an individual. It says in his word: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine' (Isaiah 43:1 NKJV). Ask him to help you see how your uniqueness can be used to do his good and true will in this world.

The letter 'A' stands for abilities. The Bible says, 'God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well' (Romans 12:6 NLT). We each have a dominant gift. It may be undiscovered, undeveloped, unused, underused or even misused, but we have one. There's a saying, 'There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come.' When we put together the right opportunity with the right gift at the right time, the results can be mind-blowing.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were Jews taken as slaves to Babylon. The Bible says: 'God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom....Whenever the king consulted them in any matter...he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom' (Daniel 1:17, 20 NLT).

Life may seem okay when suddenly a crisis happens, a situation arises or a door of opportunity opens, and we discover abilities hidden within us. We may feel locked into a situation with no way out, but God is 'a way maker' (see 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV), and he'll help us discover new abilities we didn't know we had!

So what now? You were not made to sit around and wait for success and opportunity to be handed to you. You need to actively search for them, try different things and look in places you'd least expect. It may take a while, but with God's help, you'll discover your special abilities and how to use them.

The letter 'H' represents our heart. What do we have a 'heart for' or feel passionate about? As a Jew, Paul was passionate about reaching the Jewish people: 'The thing I want most is for all the Jews to be saved. That is my prayer to God. I can say this about them: they really try to follow God, but they do not know the right way. Because they did not know the way that God makes people right with him, they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God's way of making people right. Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him may be right with God' (Romans 10:1-4 NCV).

We don't have to be involved in a Christian ministry or job to know and do God's will. In fact, God's will may lead us to the last place we'd expect. When our heart asks, 'What can I do to change this situation?' we are tapping into God's will for our life.

People who've made this world a better place asked this question. Thomas Edison answered it by giving the world the light bulb. Henry Ford gave the world the car. Nurses answer by treating people with care and dignity. First, Nehemiah wept over the ruins of Jerusalem, then he rebuilt its walls.

So what now? What moves you? What are you passionate about? What's in your heart? As you ponder this, ask God to show you his will for your life.

Understanding God's will can be hard! For the next few days, let's use the word S.H.A.P.E. as an acrostic to help us.

'S' represents our spirit. Our regenerated spirit is the part of us that's capable of connecting with God and responding to him. The Bible says: 'The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit' (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV).

We can know something in our spirit without understanding it in our brain. It sounds strange, but it isn't really, because we 'have an anointing from the Holy One, and...know all things' (1 John 2:20 NKJV).

Sometimes when we're reading the Bible, a Scripture leaps off the page and we 'know' it's God speaking to us, giving us direction. It may not make sense then, but it resonates in our spirit as being right. We use different words to describe this experience, such as 'a leading' or 'a prompting'. We won't always get it right - even the most mature Christians get it wrong sometimes. God spoke to Samuel the prophet four times before Samuel finally recognised his voice.

So what now? Just as you exercise to make your muscles stronger, exercising your spirit makes it sharper and more sensitive to God: 'Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong' (Hebrews 5:14 CEV). Ask God to help you train to sharpen your spirit.

A prophet is chopping trees near a river when his iron axe head falls in. He says to Elisha: 'Alas, master! For it was borrowed' (2 Kings 6:5 NKJV). He uses the past tense. As far as he's concerned, this axe head is gone. He has no expectation to get it back. He shows Elisha where he lost it. Elisha cuts a stick and flings it into the water, and something happens that probably never happened before or will after: 'The axe head floated to the surface' (2 Kings 6:6 NLT).

It isn't a life-or-death situation. It's just a loaned axe head that got lost. In the grand scheme of things, it inconsequential. It's in the same category as Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding party. Why waste your first miracle on helping a bride and groom avoid embarrassment because they didn't stock enough wine for their reception?

But these encounters reveal something about God. He concerns himself with the little things, like borrowed axe heads and wedding receptions. Nothing is too big for our great God, and nothing is too small for him either.

So what now? What matters to you, matters to your heavenly Father. 'Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you' (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV). Note the words 'all your care'. 'In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths' (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV). Note the words 'all your ways'. God wants you to entrust every detail of your life to him.