More on vision...

Pastor Mark often talks about the importance of examining our passion and gifts as the key to discover God's vision for our lives. God’s vision usually lies where our passion and our talent intersect. In another word, if people close their ears and run for their lives when I sing, then becoming a singer is probably not God’s vision for me. =) In Chazown, Craig Groeschel wrote about another approach called the three circles to help us seek and find God's visions for our lives. Here’s what he said in the book:

1. Examine your core values.
Craig defines core values as the values that God hardwired into our heart. These are the values that would become the driving forces of our lives, the ones that explain our personalities. Craig also wrote about the anger-bliss factor (similar to Kaarin'’s pound the table test): What stirs righteous anger inside of us? In case of Jesus, what made him angry was the fact His temple was turned from a place of worship into a marketplace. Jesus' core value is the sanctity of worship. Other examples of core values are integrity, authenticity, thrive for excellence, and kindness. Similarly the bliss factor is the things that bring happiness and fulfillment. If I love helping people, then serving may be my core value. What do you know is so important that you will let go everything else in order to grasp it?

2. Spiritual gifts.
We all know that we are gifted by God. In what area are we good at? Moses’ gift was leadership. Nehemiah’s gift was administration. Every gifts and talents have come directly from God for a purpose and He wants to use them to benefit the body of Christ. What are the gifts that God has given you? What are you passionate for? What do you do that seems to have significant impact on others? If you are interested in discovering your spiritual gifts, NCC has an excellent tool for that.

Gift and Passion Assessment

3. Past experiences.
These are events or seasons in our live that God has given to prepare us to fulfill His future vision. Pastor Mark talked about how Moses’ past experiences (he spent 40 years in the Egyptian palace, and another 40 years in the dessert) uniquely qualifies him as the person to lead the Israelite out of Egypt. David's experience as the shepherd prepares him for his battle with Goliath. Think about both positive and negative experiences that have shaped how you think, feel and act. What do your good and bad experiences have in common? What do you think your experiences have done to prepare for the future?

So, finally the last step would be bringing all these three circles together and find the place where they converge. That's where we'd find our chazown. Now, it's time for me to apply these and find my chazown! =)