At Zoweh, we define being oriented as being aware of who we are, where we are, and the good that God is up to in our lives. Gary Barkalow offers another way of becoming oriented through three coordinates: story, desire, and journey.
So, if we are to find our calling, the intention of our lives, we must become oriented—we must find our true north. We must clear from our navigational equipment (our hearts) the inaccurate, invalid maps and errors and triangulate to the three universal coordinates: story, desire, and journey.
Story: We must continually remember that more is going on than we can see (there is a Greater Story), the stakes are higher than we’ve been told (we live on a battleship, not a cruise liner), and we are far more than we believe (we are the only ones, in the spiritual realm, who underestimate the power of our lives). The theme of this story is overcoming and becoming.
Desire: The great news is that what you were created to do in the Greater Story is what you most want to do—it is written on your heart in the form of your desires: “It is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him” (Phil. 2:13 ISV). We must also continually be aware, not only of the story we are living in, but of our desires.
Journey: In addition, we must always remember that there is a process, a progression, a journey that all people must take in becoming who they truly are and in recognizing the role they are to play.
And we must remember, as essential and powerful as these reference points are, beyond them there are things that only God can reveal about our lives. God wants to be intimately involved in our journeys of becoming, and because of His desire for our lives to become what they were destined to be, He must and will speak to us personally.
