© 2007 by Ericka D. Jackson.
All rights reserved. Printed in The United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher except the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is dedicated to my mother, Thelma, who has supported me every step of the way. When I looked crazy to the rest of the world for following God’s calling on my life, she supported me emotionally, financially and spiritually. Thank you for all of the cards over the years that came just when I was getting weary on this journey. Thank you for your unconditional support and encouragement. It really means the world to me and I look forward to demonstrating my thankfulness for years to come.
Recognizing God’s Voice.................................................. 13
I Hear A Lot Of People Talking About Vision,
What Is The Big Deal?...................................................... 17
What Exactly Is Vision? .................................................... 21
What Are The Components Of Living My Vision? ........... 26
Purpose............................................................................. 27
Desires Of Your Heart ...................................................... 29
Passion ............................................................................. 30
Gifts And Talents .............................................................. 32
Area Of Service................................................................. 34
Calling ............................................................................... 38
What Are The Differences Between Dreams,
Purpose, Calling, Passion And Vision?............................ 40
How Do I Know God’s Specific Vision For Me?
Will What I Want Be Different From What God
Wants For My Life? .......................................................... 46
What Happens If I Don’t Respond To God’s Calling?..... 50
Where Do I Begin In Living My Vision?............................ 54
How Do I Stay Motivated As I Am Working On My Vision? .............................................................................. 58
How Long Will It Take To Bring Forth My Vision? ........... 60
How Do I Handle My Fears About Stepping Out And Living My Vision? ..................................................... 62
Bonus Question: Is There Enough “Vision” To
Go Around For Everyone? ................................................ 64
I Am Here For You… ......................................................... 67
Other Books By Ericka D. Jackson .................................. 68
About The Author ............................................................. 69
You Hold The Power ......................................................... 71
Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel off? You are standing in the bathroom in your paisley pajamas, blankly staring into the mirror just waiting to receive some divine guidance to know exactly what you should be doing with your life? You may not know what it is, but you know it’s got to be better than this! Living without knowing your vision feels like an eternity of “one of those days.” Now, more than ever, you must slow down and take the time to know your specific vision and what you were born to do.
This morning I was listening to the gospel station here in Raleigh and they played one of the last songs the late, great Gerald Levert recorded shortly before his passing. The song was called, He Never Left Me and a portion of the chorus line of the song struck me very deeply. It was, “I did not heed the call.” This line reminded me of the incredible importance of heeding or answering God’s call in your life and committing to living God’s vision. It is time to urgently respond to God’s calling on your life. Now is your time. Today is your day. It’s time to harness and activate The Power of Vision.
God created you for a very specific purpose and vision.There is a sense of urgency for you to bring forth your vision. God has called you to make a difference in the lives of particular people who can only receive and act on the message and information they need to hear from you. God has a specific purpose for your life. Your particular life’s journey has happened so you can be a living testimony in their lives. The longer you put off bringing forth your vision, the longer those lives suffer, because you have the information, insights, process, support, testimony or product that will bring them out of their situation and free them up to live God’s vision.
This is the continuum of Vision and it is a chain that should not be broken. Unlike those chain emails that you get twice a week in your inbox, which claim to wreak havoc in your life or the lives of others if you do not forward them, the Vision chain is about everyone doing what it is God called them to do when God has called them to do it. As a result, your vision intertwines with mine and mine connects with others and our visions propel each other’s forward.
Your vision assignment does not come all at once; God slowly unfolds and reveals it to you with each faithful step you take. all of the world’s problems, but they are not listening.
Your job is to assist and to guide them in being obedient to my call.” All-right-tee then! Wow! I sat there for several more minutes taking in what I had just heard.
Although I was moving forward on the pieces of what God called me to do as a speaker and success coach, the fullness of God’s vision for my life was revealed to me as I was sitting at my desk one morning about four years ago doing internet research on the speaking and coaching industries. I found websites for many coaches and even more speakers. Each coaching site was using the same words and phrases – “purpose…achieving your goals…living your dreams…” Each speaker claimed to be the best and described their speaking as “inspirational, motivational, and entertaining…” I remember sitting in my burgundy office chair, desiring to be deeply clear about what sets me apart from these other speakers and coaches. I was clear about my speaking skill and years of expertise, but I needed the big picture.
As always, I asked God for the answer. This was one of those wonderful moments in which God responded quickly and clearly. I heard the words, “I have put the answers in my children and they are not being obedient. I have given them the solutions to solve
With that clarity, I began to clearly understand my specific purpose and how to achieve God’s Vision for my life. My entire business took on a whole new meaning and depth. As I connected with others, I was crystal clear that I was fully on God’s path for my life. I knew I was being obedient and responding to God’s call. It is the most amazing feeling in the world (yeah, really) and that day I vowed to God that I would spend the rest of my days assisting others in living God’s vision for their lives full-time, not part-time as most believers do. What would God’s Kingdom look like if His saints were living His will and making a wonderful living while they did it? I call it “Living God’s Vision as Your Vocation.”
In the years since that epiphany, I have been asked so many questions to clarify the truth and I wanted to write this little book so you can fully understand the nature of God’s Vision for your life. This is a compilation of the main questions I have received and answers that will help clarify the incredible power of vision and how you can begin to recognize God’s call on your life. This will enable you to move forward and take the necessary steps to bring forth your vision.
RECOGNIZING GOD’S VOICE
Before I delve into the questions about recognizing all of the aspects of God’s call, I want to talk briefly about how to begin to train yourself to hear God’s voice. While God uses many people, feelings and urgings to communicate with you, the most powerful communication tool He uses is your voice of the indwelling Christ. There is a voice within you that acts as a spiritual compass to guide and direct your every step. It is imperative that you are in touch with and learn to distinguish this voice in order to move forward in your vision.
God created you with a receiver that stays tuned to His voice. This inner voice is the Holy Spirit. You may use phrases to describe your indwelling voice of God such as, “Something tells me…”, “My gut is telling me…, “I have a hunch…” or “I have a strong feeling…”. This voice keeps you tuned into the invisible spiritual world all around you. You may have heard it referred to as intuition.
While the secular world refers to this spiritual “ear” as intuition, it moves to a new level once you have devoted your life to Christ. It is a pure voice that constantly whispers instruction, direction, wisdom and knowledge. In order to hear this holy voice within as clearly as possible, you must actively do several things on a regular basis:
1. Read and study The Word
2. Spend time in silence as often as possible. In the course of this quiet time, you will begin to recognize your inner voice (meditation).
3. Keep your energy clear and positive by taking regular inventory of yourself. When you find things that are not of God or The Holy Spirit, confess/admit them and ask for forgiveness.
4. Learn to be obedient to this indwelling Christ at all times.
You can always confirm that it is the voice of God because this voice always leads you toward that which is good for your spiritual development and away from those things that are of flesh or of fleshly desires. This voice always leads you toward the light of God and away from the darkness of negative spiritual forces. If you hear an inner voice urging you to do things that harm your mind, body or spirit or that of others, that spiritual voice is not The Holy Spirit.
As you read through the following questions and begin to take steps toward clearly identifying God’s vision for your life, make sure you are quieting the “noise” in your life to be able to unmistakably distinguish God’s voice, like a mother who can recognize their child’s voice over any other voice. With practice, you will come to know God’s voice in a powerful way.
I am so looking forward to moving you through this process. Congratulations on taking this step and I am honored to be supporting and guiding you on this wonderful journey. Let’s get started…