DAY 3: What makes you come alive?

Here’s some stark advice for finding your vocation: ‘Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’ When I first heard this quote, I assumed that it must have come from a modern self-help guru! However, when I discovered that the quote is attributed to Howard Thurman, a pastor, civil rights activist and advisor to Martin Luther King Junior, I started to take it a lot more seriously.

Discovering our calling - our vocation in life - goes hand in hand with a process of self-discovery, a process of uncovering the unique reflection of the image of God that he has placed in you. A process of identifying the values that God has placed at your core. It’s when you live in line with these values that you really come alive.

Our values sit at a level deeper than specific causes or issues, even though they may be connected to them. For me, they explained why, after a few years, I was getting restless in my civil service job. One of my strongest values is adventure, and it turns out that working in a big bureaucracy isn’t exactly the epitome of adventure! Instead I’ve realised that in a ‘work’ context, my value of adventure sits pretty close to pioneering, and that’s why I love starting new projects. That makes me come alive.

Scripture: John 1:41-42 and Romans 12:2 (NIV)

John 1:41-42 • 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,“You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

Romans 12:2 • 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Reading:

We sometimes see a person’s core value being named – literally - Jesus gives the apostle Simon the name Peter, which means ‘rock’, calling out the strength that is perhaps the true, redeemed nature of Peter’s confidence and impetuousness.

Reflection questions to help you identify your core values:

What values might you have picked up from your upbringing regarding what ‘a life well lived’ looks like, which might not sit well with you now?

What most excites you in life? What makes you angry? What are you prepared to suffer or make sacrifices for?