Discovering Your Calling isn't as hard as you think.
Let God lead you into it one step at a time.
Just A Girl Who Loves Jesus
This Post Helps You Complete Week 7
Stepping into our calling can feel like a confusing idea. It doesn’t usually happen all at once, rather it requires courage, commitment, and a willingness to learn through the pursuit of a relationship with Christ.
As we pursue connection to Christ, we discover our true selves and what we are capable of. The journey holds more significance than the end goal.
A key part of the journey is choosing who to serve in this life. By default, we tend to prioritize serving ourselves, using our actions to elevate ourselves and validate our value. However, the key to living a fulfilling life lies in recognizing how God has uniquely shaped us to make a difference in the world.
Story Time:
As a child, I had many of the same passions I do to this day. In my early years, I spent a great deal of time singing, playing house, I loved craft supplies and making art projects, and spending time with the people I cared about. As I grew, I absolutely loved babysitting and spending times with kids.
Looking back, it's easy to see the things built into me that ended up being my calling. While I was growing up, I didn't understand that those things were what would shape me into who I was meant to be. Instead, I focused my attention on academic achievement, doing well in activities, building friendships, and getting attention from boys.
As a young child I was happy and silly, but as I grew so did the hurt inside me. It seemed there were so many places that I fell short. In the competition of life, I was only in the middle, and I hated that. I wanted to be on top.
By the time I was a freshman in high school, I knew I was a talented singer, but fear of making a mistake or being embarrassed made it hard to use my gift. I didn't make swing choir that year because I got so nervous that I couldn't sing when I was trying out. I so badly wanted to be a part of it, but I failed to get in.
The early years of high school were dedicated to proving that I was pretty, smart, and talented. Up to that point, I had been rejected by boys my age. When those same boys started paying attention to me in high school, I ignored them because I had my eyes set on older boys. There was a part of me that enjoyed rejecting the same boys that rejected me in the years before.
I was fortunate to have supportive friends and many uplifting experiences as I transitioned into adulthood. Although I didn't grasp the idea that God has a specific plan for me, His influence was still evident in my life.
Having been raised in the church, I understood that God held a significant place in my life. My love for kids led me to teach 4 year old Sunday School, as a senior in high school. However, I never fully surrendered to His authority. If only I had realized earlier that His ways far surpassed the ways of the world, I could have avoided many years of suffering.
It wasn't until I turned 30 that I completely surrendered to him and started seeking to comprehend the implications of that decision. Following his will and embracing his calling has proven to be far more rewarding than I could ever envision.
The Shift to a Higher Way of Thinking
Are you ready to get started discovering your calling?
In Revelation 4:1, God says to the apostle John, "“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” I love the picture that this verse creates. Imagine God giving you the invitation to come up with him so he can show you your calling.
Life shifts when you begin to see yourself as part of God's holy and powerful plans. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the desire to step into all that God has for you. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33 ESV
Romans 11:29 states that God's gifts and calling are irrevocable. This means that once He has given them to you, He will not change His mind, regardless of whether you use them for His service or your own.
Think of an example of a talented singer, who is using their gift for fame rather than to serve God.
Can you think of a famous person who has fallen into darkness using their gifts?
An easy way to begin the first steps towards your calling is to use what God has give you for good, ask it says in 1 Peter 4:10.
Take a few moments to ask Holy Spirit how you can make a positive impact in the lives of the people around you.
Reflect on how you may have caused damage to your gifts by using them to prove your worth.
Dream with God about your future. What is in your heart? Ask God to fill your heart with hopes and dreams that line up with how he created you.
Scriptures:
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NIV
for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Romans 11:29 NIV
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 1John 2:27 NIV
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