112 Unique: Hitting Your Sweet Spot
“Sweet spot.” Golfers understand the term. So do baseball players and tennis players. Connect with that prime inch of real estate and kapow! Your arm doesn’t tingle and the ball doesn’t ricochet. You think, “Yes!!!”
What engineers have given to sports equipment, God has given to you. A zone, a region, an intersection in which you were made to live. And life makes sweet sense when you find it.
Your sweet spot can be found at the convergence of three circles: your PASSION, your spiritual GIFTS, and your STORY.
The first circle involves… identifying your passion.
Your passion is a powerful or compelling emotion or feeling; a strong enthusiasm or desire for something. You can begin to identify your passion by asking 2 questions:
What really captivates me?
What seriously disturbs me?
The second circle requires … unwrapping your gifts.
Spiritual gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design for the common good of the Body of Christ and the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
A spiritual gift inventory can be a helpful tool. In addition, it’s wise to ask these questions:
Where do I find great fulfillment?
Where do I find great fruitfulness?
The third circle involves… leveraging your story.
Romans 8:28 tells us that “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him.” (NASB) That means that God can give meaning and purpose to both the high points as well as the low points in our life.
To that end, I encourage you to spend some time thinking through these questions:
What positive experiences have I had that God might want to use?
What painful experiences have I had that God might want to use?
The journey of discovering and living out of your calling begins with a relationship with Christ. Open up your heart to Christ and ask him to be your Forgiver and your Redeemer and your Friend and your Guide for this life.
If you’ve already done that, and are still unsure of your calling, then keep surrendering yourself on a daily basis, saying, “God, I’m open. Show me the way.”
And then as he prompts you (and He will), step out a little bit and try your hand at something.
You probably won’t get it right on the first try. But if you’re willing and you’re moving in this direction, there will come a day when you’re doing exactly what God made you for. And you’ll find yourself saying: “I was born for this.”
And that’s about as good as it gets, friends. That’s about as good as it gets.
Discover Your Calling
Here are some resources to help you:
Text: Jer. 1:5; Eph. 2:10; Ps. 139:13-16
Originally recorded on January 3, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.