For the last couple of weeks I've been doing a study series concerning "calling". I'm sure that you have wondered from time to time why you are here and what is your life's purpose. All of us do; because as we begin to live a new life in Christ there is something on the inside of us calling us to a higher level of living than we had thought possible before. There is something telling us that we're here for more than what Pastor Ed Young calls, "Procreation and Recreation". But the question then remains, "How do I know what I'm here to do?" For many of us the answer to this question can be difficult to find but as you search for your purpose let me share with you a few ways that God helped me to discover mine.
1.) What bothers you?
Having excepted Christ in my teenage years, I did not grow up in the church. Whether this was a blessing or not, I'll let you decide but it gave me a unique perspective on things at a young age. When I came to church it was not necessarily to be entertained but rather to get a deeper understanding of this Jesus that had changed my life. With that being said, it irritated me any time I would listen to preachers who said a lot while saying a little, if you know what I mean. In other words, it bothered me (and still does to this day) when I would listen to people preach personal opinion or try to go so deep where you can't understand a word that they're saying. This irritant caused me to begin to try to teach in a way that everyone could understand and draw conclusions as to how they could apply the Bible to their daily lives. I believe that God was allowing me to see different styles and practices of teaching that were effective and/ or ineffective because the calling to teach was resident within me so I would have to learn every day how to reach people. Now that's me, but what about you? What bothers you? Do you hate seeing children not being cared for? Does it bother you that people are forgotten in nursing homes, hospitals or prisons? What bothers you? That may be an indication of your calling.
2.) What burden's you? What do you dream about?
As I discuss, "dreaming" I'm not necessarily referring to that frequently which crosses your mind while you're sleeping because I believe that sometimes what frequently crosses your mind while you're awake could also be an indication of your calling. I was asked by a person a while back about how one knows when they are called to ministry. I try to tread softly on this one because I never what to feel as though I called a person as opposed to the Spirit of God calling them so I told them, "If you feel as though there is nothing more that you would like to do than share God's Word with people, if nothing would bring you greater joy than to tell people what God has said in the Word than you may be experiencing a call to preach". This may seem somewhat extreme but what I wanted them to understand is that there is something for all of us to do and I don't believe that we are to pursue it halfheartedly so that thing must be the central focus of our efforts for Christ. In my own personal life I enjoy sharing the Word so much that I get excited just thinking about any opportunity to speak to people concerning the Word and I try to use any medium available to do so whether it be live and in person, typed in a blog, hosted on youtube, or posted on Facebook or Twitter. What I'm saying is that your calling should leak out of every pore.
If it is to bless children you'll find yourself wanting to help out in the children's ministry, volunteer with the sports programs, or maybe tutor children in a local school. If it is to write music you'll find yourself writing on napkins in restaurants, typing in the notepad in your phone or pecking away at your ipad every time you receive an inspiration. Whatever your calling is I believe God will plant it so deeply into the core of your being that it will leak out even when you don't want it to. Even when your over extended and tired your calling will call to you because there is something that God made you to do and you only have one life time to get it done. What do you dream about? That may be an indication of your calling.
3.) What have you been blessed with? What comes spiritual for you?
Notice that I didn't say what comes naturally for you or what comes easily for you because both of those things can be deceiving. The question is not what comes naturally but what comes spiritually? What gifts came into your life AFTER you excepted Christ? In my case it was the ability to speak publicly without losing my mind. You may think that "losing my mind" was never an option but that's because you weren't with me in my Intro to Theater class when I was in high school. I almost failed this class voluntarily because I was afraid to make a presentation in front of the class. I pushed it until it was almost the end of the year and there was no way around it and then I muddled my way through it for a passing grade. This was in stark contrast to a few years later when I had excepted Christ and was beginning to walk toward what God made me to be (a Christian Communicator and/or preacher; depending on your context) when I leap at the opportunity to do so. Come to think about it, the fact that I view it as an "opportunity" is an indication of the tremendous change in my perspective. What happened? Christ changed me and opened my eyes so that I could see what I was made to be and as a result speaking about Him came spiritually for me. What about you? What comes spiritually for you? Is there anything that you may not have necessarily been trained for but that you can do as well as those who have? I would encourage you to do as the Apostle told Timothy when he asked him to "Fan into flame the gift that was inside him..." This is important because the gift is shared spiritually but you have to work to improve your proficiency in operating it. For me this required, and still requires, the constant reading of books and articles, making the most of every opportunity to exercise the gifts, attending an undergraduate program that would help sharpen my skills and a masters level program that would help to broaden my perspective. Additional steps are important because your calling is so important to the lives of those that it will impact that you have to demonstrate a level of seriousness that shows that you will not try to accomplish your purpose and fulfil your life's assignment with a lazy or lackadaisical demeanor. It's too important for that.
So as you consider your life's calling think about what bothers you, what burden's you and what God has blessed you with the gifts to do. As you think and pray about these things you'll be well on your way to discovering you're divine destiny and connecting with you're life's calling. Can you hear it now?!
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