Value Your Calling

“Your calling is a divine invitation.”

    This sentence has stuck with me since I heard it on a podcast a few months ago. Sometimes it’s confusing to see how my calling fits into my daily life. When our expectations of what our calling is supposed to be collides with reality, sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged. The daily humdrum of life is a comfortable rhythm that’s easy to slip into, but a calling requires commitment and intentionality. We are easily discouraged when we constantly compare our ministry and calling with those of others. The calling we actually stepped into may be totally different than the one we thought we were stepped into. Do you think David really thought of himself as a king when he was still herding sheep? Probably not! But his faithfulness to his flock and his obedience to God eventually led him to the throne. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you’re guaranteed to be royalty in this lifetime (though we are joint-heirs with Christ according to Rom. 8:17), just that the path that we may want for ourselves is often much different from the one we find ourselves on. God is writing an immensely beautiful story for our ministries and our lives, but we often struggle to see this larger picture in the midst of the non-Instagrammable, humble beginnings or messy middle we are currently facing. 

    Our short-sightedness makes it difficult to see how our role in life fits with our calling because we struggle to see how they fit together. For example, we are all called to the “Great Commission” (Matt 28:18-20.) But what does this look like? No, it doesn’t mean we are all called to be foreign missionaries (partly because there would be no one left to witness to the people at home!) Rather, it means we are called to share the Gospel, no matter where we are. This calling, relevant for all Christians, will look different depending on your stage of life. For a teenager, it may be inviting a friend to a youth event. For a college student, it may be stepping out in faith and going on a mission trip. For a mother, it can look like being faithful to take her kids to church and loving her husband. Each of these people has different roles and responsibilities based on their current season in life. In this way, we must be aware of our current role and see how our calling fits into it.It may sound a bit backwards, but while our roles change more regularly, our calling remains the same. Being responsible to serve and intentionally develop your calling no matter your current role is what makes a difference. You’ll never reach a point on this side of Heaven where we are not called to share the Gospel with others, so it’s important to obey that command by actively pursuing opportunities, regardless of your stage in life. 

    Often, God gives us a calling in addition to the Great Commission. It is a great responsibility to have a calling, whether that is to teach, write, speak, etc. When these callings are revealed, God may give us insight into parts of our story we haven’t gotten to yet; it is easy to compare the future with the present. We may want today what only comes after much time and sacrifice in ministry, but the truth is that we often don’t get beautiful, established ministries overnight. What we want to see in the first year often looks like what is more feasible to see in a decade. Often, we get discouraged when our big dreams don’t make themselves apparent in our personal timeframe. Not to say that God cannot do miraculous things – He definitely can! But comparison of your ministry to your personal expectations instead of what God is calling you to is where we get into trouble. There is so much behind every ministry that we never see unless we’re involved. An outsider often doesn’t see the heartache and trial and time that goes into a ministry to make it “what it is” in the public eye.

    We begin to see the current stage of our ministry as a burden instead of a blessing. Yet, in spite of emotions of dread that begin to cloud our spiritual eyes, God is calling to us. He has invited us into our calling for a purpose, and invites us to walk a journey prepared for us; it’s a journey designed to make us look more like Christ and share the Gospel along the way. It is an invitation to take part in something that is only possible through grace, for without it, we could never be invited into this process of sanctification with the Father.