Do You Know Your Calling?
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,…” 2 Tim. 1:9
“I truly admire people who know and understanding their calling!!” a woman wrote me one day. Little did she know it took me decades to get to this place, and how lost and broken I was as I wandered around without any clear sense of direction. My sense of calling and purpose is stronger than imaginable now, but the truth is I didn’t know the way to get to where I am today. I couldn’t find the way here, and I thought it was impossible for someone as lost as I was to get to where I now am. Now I understand clearly why I couldn’t find the way here. Do you know your calling? Do you know your purpose?
Just because you’ve had the same career for 30 years doesn’t mean you necessarily know your calling. Or just because your resume is almost empty and you’re locked up in prison for life doesn’t mean you don’t have a purpose. Or just because you’re as lost as I was doesn’t mean you’ll never find and fulfill your calling. Or just because you’re convinced you’re living your life’s purpose because you’re doing something that makes you feel comfortable, secure, and happy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fulfilling your true life’s purpose. We should never make any assumptions about our calling and purpose unless we understand this.
My pastor who is now with the Lord said this in his own words: “First you need to know the Lord. Then you need to know who you are in Him. Once you know Him and know who you are in Him, then you’ll discover the purpose He has for you.” The reason I couldn’t find the way to my life’s calling and purpose for years is that Jesus Christ IS the way (John 14:6). Jesus Christ is the way to forgiveness by God and a relationship with God now and forever in heaven by repenting and believing in Christ as Lord and turning to God and His ways, Jesus is the way to living the abundant life on earth God intended for those who devote their lives to Him (John 10:10), and Jesus is the way to our calling and purpose. The number one calling and purpose we all share is to love, serve, and worship God forever, to love others, (Mt. 22:39) and to tell the world about Christ. The individual purpose and calling God has for each of us always falls into this context of living to love and glorify Him.
When you repent of your sins and of living for yourself according to the world’s ways, trust in Christ as Lord and turn to God and His ways, devoting yourself utterly to Him, and commit daily to studying His Word and learning to live by it, and seek His face continually, you will come to know your calling and purpose. Do you?