August 20, 2024

God’s Calling on Your Life

A compilation

Audio length: 11:05
Download Audio (10.1MB)

Do you ever wonder if you are doing what God wants you to do? As in, what’s that purpose you were created for? What is it that you’re meant to do that will give your life meaning? I’ve wondered about those things, and I still do sometimes.

I watched a movie that addressed this very topic. It’s called This Is Our Time. The story is set around the lives of five college graduates: a brother and sister, Ethan and Ally; her boyfriend-turned-husband, Luke; and Ryder and Catherine, who are Ethan and Ally’s best friends. They’re all Christians and trying to pursue God’s calling in their lives.

On their graduation day, one of them asks their professor if he has any last words for them before they go out into the world. He says, “Always remember that God has a purpose for each one of you.”

Luke and Ally accept an invitation to work with a mission that serves leper colonies in India. Ryder moves into IT work and believes that God wants him to make a difference online. Catherine starts working her way up the corporate ladder and believes God’s calling for her is to be faithful in the workplace.

The only one left is Ethan. He always thought God wanted him to be a writer, but he doesn’t get into the college he wanted to attend and ends up working in his dad’s café. He struggles to find purpose and feels like he’s been left behind while everyone moves on to fulfill their destinies.

He keeps asking for and seeking “God’s calling,” but it seems like he gets no direction or answer. His professor frequents his dad’s café, and one day he asks the young man what he’s doing with his life. Ethan says he’s trying to figure out what God wants him to do but still has no idea.

It’s the professor’s reply to him that really impressed me: “The question is not ‘What does God want me to do?’ but ‘Who is God asking me to be?’ When you become who God wants you to be, His will is all around you.”

Without getting into spoilers, suffice it to say that an unexpected event changes everyone’s lives, and Ethan, who has finally started to focus on being who God wants him to be, is thrust into the spotlight. All of a sudden, his life has direction and God’s purpose becomes clear.

He finally understood that God couldn’t get him to do what He wanted him to do until he was the man God was calling him to be. Becoming that man involved struggle, disappointment, sacrifice, surrender, and hard choices, but when Ethan finally understands that his part was being the man God wanted him to be, he finds peace and contentment. And then he finds his calling, or at least his next step.

Life can be a series of cycles. Sometimes your purpose is clearly defined, and other times it might feel like you’re benched, sitting on the sidelines, watching and waiting for your opportunity. If you reach a point where you aren’t sure of what God wants you to do (and we all face times like that), focus on who God wants you to be. The rest will come.—Mara Hodler¹

You have a unique calling from God. Do you know what it is? God knows your story, your wiring, and your gifts. He knows your abilities, your limitations, and your challenges. And he knows your experience, your education, and your opportunities. God knows all of that about you. And he has a calling on your life that only you can uniquely fulfill.

You have a kingdom assignment. If you’re not sure what that is, ask the Lord. He wants you to know. Your calling is not a decoder ring in a crackerjack box; he wants you to know your unique calling. Ask him about it. Then, when you know, ask the harder question: “Lord, am I willing to do your thing, the unique thing you’ve called me to do?”

Remember: God’s will isn’t a searchlight that shows the final destination but rather a flashlight that shows the next step. Where is he directing you?

Personally, I’ve long known that God’s call on my life is to speak biblical truth to cultural issues. … Still, every day, I need to pray, “Lord, am I willing to do your thing, the unique thing you’ve called me to do?” I know my calling, but I still need his leadership, and I still need to daily say yes to his call.
God’s will for your life is a flashlight. Will you trust where he leads?—Jim Denison

God is in the details of life, and often the way he calls people to different professions is by the gifts he gives to them. … Understanding how we are gifted goes hand in hand with understanding our calling, because God often calls people to serve him in places that fit their gifts (1 Corinthians 7:7, 17; Romans 12:4–8). So let’s look at a few things that may help determine where the Lord is calling you.

1. Consider your unique gifts. People have different skills and desires that equip them to succeed at certain tasks. Some are gifted at teaching, others at leading, others at administration, and the list goes on and on (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 1 Peter 4:9–11). Knowing what you are good at and what you enjoy doing is one important part of [your] calling. …

2. Assess your aptitude in your gifts.Besides different gifts, people also have different levels of gifts. … God calls us to use our gifts in accordance with the measure he gives them to us (Romans 12:3). People can have similar gifts but the different capacities of those gifts can put them in very different roles. …

3. Weigh the mixture of your gifts. God typically does not give a person just one gift but multiple gifts, and each gift with varying aptitudes. This mixture of gifts and abilities makes us proficient for a variety of works. … This means that people are rarely locked into just one job or field, but are instead equipped to do a variety of tasks and jobs as God provides opportunity. …

4. Survey the opportunities in front of you. Finally, while we can make many plans and have all kinds of lofty desires, it is always the Lord’s purposes that prevail (Proverbs 19:21). No one likes to have doors shut on us, but sometimes those slammed doors are vital for identifying our calling. Closed doors can be the Lord sending us in a direction we might never go on our own (Acts 16:7–9). … As you look at the opportunities that do open for you, take time to reflect on who you are and which opportunity best fits your gifts, desires, aptitudes, and the unique mixture of all three.—Keith Welton²

The vast majority of believers are not called to a single, groundbreaking ministry. Instead, we’re called to several, depending on our stage of life, our spiritual maturity level, and the needs of those around us. God calls us to serve where we are. Someone with the gift of teaching may lead a Sunday school class for a while, teach at a Christian school, and then write curriculum. Or he may work at a bank and find opportunities to teach others about God through more informal situations. We are ultimately called to fill the needs of the body (1 Corinthians 12:7), but that doesn’t mean we’ll have a single, lifelong ministry to concentrate on, although sometimes it does.

Sometimes, God does give an individual a specific ministry, but He always does so in His own timing. Like training before a competition, it takes time to develop the wisdom and skills we need (1 Corinthians 3:2). If God were to give us the mission before the training, we’d try to do too much too soon. Instead, God holds us back, taking time to build our practical skills (Luke 2:52), spiritual knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), and faith (James 2:22). …

Ultimately, our “calling” is to love God, love others, obey God, and take care of others. If we concentrate on fulfilling the responsibilities He’s given us now, God will take care of our impact on the world.—GotQuestions.org³

Published on Anchor August 2024. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.

² https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/graduates-what-is-god-calling-you-to-do

³ https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-calling.html

Posted in: audio, compilation, following god, mission