You keep going back and forth on what your calling is. You struggle to pinpoint it. “It must be this because I’m good at this!” But nothing feels just right.
Most people can’t find it. Many people never do. Although they ask the question throughout their life, they never quite pin it down and are forever wandering.
Your calling can and must be found for you to have the impact you were meant to have.
By the end of this, I hope to deliver the following:
- The difference between calling and purpose.
- How your calling changes.
- How to brainstorm to find your calling.
- What to do when you feel disconnected from your calling.
The difference between calling and purpose.
This isn’t necessarily THE answer, but it’s how I view it. My purpose, and I would argue yours as well, is to bring glory to God by using the talents we were gifted with. It’s “the talents” (skills, abilities, etc.) or the work we do with those talents that “calling” is represented by.
What if we never get clear on what our calling is? We might get lucky and accidentally use our calling to bring glory to Him, but what if we’re not? I worry about missing the impact I could have on my purpose by being unclear.
How your calling changes.
I used to get hung up on a ‘calling’ being something so severe and permanent that I better get it right - and that caused a lot of paralysis.
When you were a kid, did you have the skills and abilities you have now?
Probably not.
Did that mean you had no purpose? No call? I would argue that our calling changes based on our ability as we grow through life.
My 10-year-old is a great baseball and basketball player. If he’s doing that in a way that glorifies God, then play on!
My 13-year-old son has a unique ability to serve others in need. He loves and is good at it, and the opportunities to serve find him. As he gets older, he'll develop new technical and social skills that he could apply in innovative ways to make an even more significant impact. His calling will expand in scope.
And looking at my own journey, I've experienced this firsthand. In my youth, I was called to use my musical talents. After deep pains and lessons learned, I shifted to using my writing and communication abilities to encourage others. Today, I feel drawn to leadership and business as vehicles for kingdom contribution.
The key is being attentive and responsive to the seasons the Lord leads you through. Be faithful to what He's put in your hands now - while holding open hands before Him.
How to brainstorm to find your calling.
If you’re not already a paper-based brain-stormer, I highly encourage you to start. Using physical paper to get everything out of your head and be able to connect seemingly disparate pieces of information can be invaluable.
For the purposes of our calling, I recommend first focusing on what Pastor Martyn Illes calls “circumstances.” I would describe this as a mix of what you know, your opportunities, and what you love. The cross-section of these falls right into the calling zone.
Now, you’ll note what is coming up for you in Scripture and prayer. What passages have stood out to you lately? What stories are you drawn to? When you spend time listening in prayer, what messages are you hearing? This assumes you’re reading Scripture daily and spending time in prayer, which is a whole other topic.
When you look at the cross-section from your circumstances, blended with the messages you have resonated with from Scripture and prayer, this mixture should give you a pretty well-informed idea of your calling.
What to do when you feel disconnected from your calling.
Before you go back to the starting block, I encourage you to pray on it. I’ve often doubted myself and soon realized it was The Evil One pushing doubt into my mind.
My pastor recently had good advice on discerning the source of a negative mental loop. Is the negativity convicting or condemning? If it’s convicting, it’s probably from God. If it’s not, then you’re in some spiritual warfare you’ll need to deal with.
You may never have complete confidence your direction is correct, but you should have peace. You may only know what today looks like and have no plan for tomorrow, but if you can be at peace with what you’ve defined as your calling, God will help align the next steps. Now, you just need to move.
If you’ve enjoyed this, please consider forwarding it to friends who might find it helpful.
Until next week,
Elliott
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