4: A Venn Diagram for Discerning Your Callings

It can be helpful to think about what God calls you to as the intersection of three circles:

• What You Desire (Your Deep Gladness)

• What the World Needs (The World's Deep Hunger)

• An Economic Engine (God's Practical Provision)

Sometimes, a single brilliant job hits all three areas. More often, we need a combination of jobs, responsibilities, and projects that help us hit all three. And that's okay!

We can give that over to the Lord and say, "Lord, here's my combination. Here's my job and my side hustle and my service at my church." He'll meet us there, even when things are less than perfect.

Sources: Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)

Ezra 7:27 (NIV)

2 Corinthians 8:16-17 (NIV)

John 3:16 (NIV)

Proverbs 13:4 (NIV) Kevin Miller, "Called," Work That Pleases God (sermon, Church of the Resurrection, Wheaton, Illinois, April 4, 2014).

Jim Collins, "The Hedgehog Concept," Concepts, JimCollins.com. Originally published in Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't (New York: Harper Business, 2001).

Frederick Buechner, "Vocation," Quote of the Day, The Frederick Buechner Center, July 18, 2021. Originally published in Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (Harper San Francisco, 1973).

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