God created you with a unique purpose in mind – something He wants you to do. Are you heading in the right direction? How can you know?
Which of these scenarios sound like your life, right now?
#1: You know exactly what God wants you to be doing, no questions about it. You wake up every morning ready to get started and go to bed every night knowing you followed God’s path that day
#2: You dream about what he might have you do, always thinking that maybe tomorrow, or next week, or next year, would be a better time to start. You have a decent idea of your gifts and talents but aren’t sure how that fits into the bigger picture.
#3: You have no idea what God has put you here for but you know it must be different than what you are currently doing. You know God gives us all a path to follow but you figure you haven’t found it yet because nothing has sparked passion yet the way you think it should.
For a long time I sat in camp two. I had a decent idea of what I was put here to do – teach and encourage others. From the age of seven (if not earlier!) I was pretending to play school and probably drove my siblings and neighbors crazy by trying to get them to learn social studies and math on summer break. But there has always been something about passing on knowledge and seeing someone “get it” that pushes me to keep going that direction.
I pursued teaching all through school and even earned a degree in Secondary Education. Other than required hours for graduation and my teaching license I have never set foot in a classroom. I realized there was lots about the education system I didn’t like and took huge amounts of the joy I got from teaching away.
After becoming a mom and finding out how much I enjoyed passing on my experiences and knowledge to others I realized that teaching doesn’t need to come in one shape and form. I don’t need to be in front of a classroom of teens in order to be doing what I love to do.
While reading Chazown by Craig Groeschel it began to make sense. The reason why I feel so called to teach. Why I love getting together with other women and sharing life together. Why I’m so drawn to creating community and making others feel welcome. And now I have a clearer picture of how to follow the actual path God has set me on from the moment he created me! Can I get a giant light bulb over my head, please?
I wanted to fly through this book because of the writing style and content. It was so inspiring and motivation that I didn’t want to stop reading! But I also had to stop. The information is so rich and thought provoking that if I hadn’t slowed down I might have burst trying to sort through it all at once.
But what is Chazown?
Chazown (pronounced kha-ZONE) is the Hebrew word for the dream, revelation, or vision God was thinking about when he made you.
“The Bible makes it clear that we were designed from the start to live for a unique reason. For a dream. A big idea. A personal mission. That’s because you and I are made in the image of a forward looking, purposeful God.”
You aren’t like anyone else. He has a specific plan for you and only you. It is because of how you are made and what you have gone through that this plan will work.
How do I discover my Chazown?
Your Chazown is where your core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences come together in perfect harmony. Without one of these areas you aren’t truly doing everything God created you to do! If you are ignoring your values to chase a dream it is not from God! A person that values wisdom but doesn’t bother seeking out new knowledge isn’t going to fulfill their Chazown! If you don’t have the spiritual gift of administration your Chazown is probably not running the PTA. But if you have gifting in serving you might find your spot in one of your church’s ministries. Those hours you spent playing the piano as a child could be the experience from your past to start a new home business. All the years of struggling financially and needing government help can be a stepping stone to working with low income families find a new starting place.
“God knew exactly what He was doing when He created you. God gave you core values, God gave you spiritual gifts, and God gave you experiences. And where those overlap is where His Chazown for your life explodes in spontaneous spiritual combustion.”
All the pieces need to work together!
As you work through the book and answer the questions in each chapter you will discover all sorts of nuggets of incredible information about yourself you didn’t even realize were vital to your purpose in God’s kingdom!
This book should be required reading for every youth group! Can you imagine the impact of future generations on our world if they knew from a young age what God wanted them to do? How many years would be saved from aimless wondering? How much money would be saved when kids go to college when it’s what God is calling them to do instead of what society believes they should do? Instead of spending years or decades trying to find God’s plan for them they could start NOW.
Instead of spending more time waiting for God to holler, “Hey, here’s the plan!” you can discover the blueprints he put inside you from the start. Grab the book – which includes incredible questions and step-by-step instructions – and dig into yourself to see what God put there at your creation. Find out what he has planned for you!
There is so much more to this book while being so simple at the same time. It has challenged me to set up real goals that will continue to push me toward my own Chazown. Goals that this book is helping me map out. Anything less than what God wants for me is not what I want.
What do you feel God’s purpose for you is? What are you doing to follow that path right now?
I’ve been in a combination of all 3 for a couple years now. I often feel 3, but am waiting in 2 but then I’ll suddenly be reminded that I’m also in 1 with very good intention. To build me up better for 2 and 3 and where that leads me.
Maybe this would be a good book for me to really be able to define where I’m find and focus on getting that achieved.
It’s good to be aware, Nicole! You are an incredible mama and friend and God is using you all the time to encourage and support those around you. Cari has my copy of the book so you could always snag it from her when she’s done 😀