Three Reasons Many Christians Don’t Know Their Calling
Unlike most Christians I know, my faith walk has been sort of a DIY project. Of course I’m being a bit silly, but for a girl who met Jesus alone in her room one very dark night, there was just no possibility of it coming together with any more finesse than I could muster in my own ignorance. I was sixteen, had trust issues and didn’t talk to anyone about the inner turmoil I was battling, and I certainly didn’t discuss my supernatural experience with God that changed the entire trajectory of my life. It was years before I walked through the doors of that small Baptist church in Phenix City, Alabama. Eager to learn, I quickly immersed myself in the culture. I was baptized, attended Bible study and even memorized the books of the Bible so I could hastily flip to them during the service, like all the other Christians. It was in those early years of assimilation that I decided I should know what my calling is. I took a spiritual gifts test, but the answers I wanted didn’t come with the results. Others would talk of God’s calling on their life and seemed to feel so sure about what they should be doing, but God wasn’t telling me anything, at least not anything I could hear. Then one day I was reading a devotional, and the writer mentioned being put on a shelf by God. I took it to heart and decided that’s what he had done to me, put me on a shelf in waiting. So I gave up the quest for discovering my calling and moved on with my life, keeping God and my thoughts of service in the backseat. Somehow over the course of years, God finally managed to cram a little truth into my brain and now I see so clearly what I was too blind to see then. In all my efforts to find my purpose, my calling, I had no understanding of God’s nature, something I believe others miss as well. What I’ve learned through a lengthy season of trial and error may save you months of sitting beside a bush, waiting for it to burst into flames with the voice of God booming out your instructions.
1. We don’t understand how God operates.
I don’t say this to criticize anyone, because I believe this dilemma is quite common. Knowing how God operates requires an intimate knowledge of God himself. This is not something that typically happens overnight and may take years to develop, much like building a solid friendship or marriage. Until you can hear God’s thoughts and feel his heart it will be nearly impossible to understand his plans for your life. I was willing and I was able, but my willingness to serve was only a fraction of what was required. God does have a calling for each of us, but he sent his son to the cross so that we could share in a relationship with him, and it is through this relationship that we find our purpose. I was waiting for some miraculous revelation, but I wasn’t ready for what God had planned, and that doesn’t equal countless idle hours on a shelf. The truth is God is either preparing us for service or he’s leading us as we live in service. He does not put us on a shelf. God prepares us to serve through our service.
Consider the story of Joseph, in the book of Genesis. As a young man Joseph was given prophetic dreams that foretold of his future rule over many people, yet he spent nearly thirteen years in slavery and prison before those dreams came to life. Thirteen years is a long time, and during those years of hardship we might think Joseph was on a shelf, waiting for God’s timing, but there was something much bigger happening. God was preparing Joseph’s heart and mind for the massive responsibility he was destined to carry out, but he needed a bit of sanding around those rough edges and a certain amount of humility in serving others and serving God. I’m thankful prison and slavery were not what God felt I needed, but that’s not meant to imply that my years of preparation have been easy. God knows our heart and allows trials in our life to transform us into vessels useful for his kingdom purposes. Some might suggest if we learn our lessons faster maybe we can hurry things along and end the trials sooner, but I believe God has already set his timing based upon what he knows of us and our needs. As he once told me regarding a promise, “You can’t rush it, you can’t wreck it!” I firmly believe this is how God operates, and we see it in Joseph, as he settles into his work as a slave and even later as a prisoner. He’s not constantly complaining and waiting for God to save him. He learned to serve where he was, while developing humility and a respect for God’s sovereignty, despite his circumstances.
2. We withhold things from God.
Sometimes we are a little like Cain in Genesis 4. He did what he wanted without much regard for God. He never offered his best and tried to hide the truth from God when he killed his brother Abel. How often do we live in denial of God’s presence in our lives, as though he can’t see us and all of our failings? As though he doesn’t notice when we offer him our leftovers or even nothing at all? We don’t want to be inconvenienced or troubled, and therefore allow the noise of our busy lives to drown out the voice of God, and the lures of pleasure and security to lull us into contentment and away from a life of higher value. Then wonder why we can’t hear God. As a culture we no longer sit and listen in the stillness of the moment. Even when we pray, we talk to God and then scurry off into the day, not really waiting for him to respond. If there is silence we fill it with music, YouTube videos, Ted Talks and other entertainment. We can’t bear the thought of silence, yet it is into the silence that God speaks and creates from nothing, everything around us. It can take some practice, but if we truly want to know God’s calling for our life we must learn to endure the silence and listen for his voice.
3. We don’t recognize God’s voice.
God is a supernatural being with the ability to communicate by spirit. If we want to hear his voice, we must listen using our spiritual ears. As Jesus said, “whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 11:15 NIV. In this verse he’s not going mom on us and telling us “open your ears”, he’s referring to listening by spirit, which we can only do when his spirit dwells in us. Even then we may be too distracted to hear him or we may dismiss his voice as our own thoughts or ideas. God’s hand is often at work around us, in our every day, blessing our life through the unexpected, yet we deny the possibility and thereby reduce his authority and power in our life. The truth is God is always speaking, but we must have ears to hear or we could spend a lifetime believing he isn’t speaking to us and miss out on the tremendous blessing of his presence in our everyday life and calling. When we have ears to hear we wait expectantly knowing he will speak.
