Calling Concerns

What does God want me to do? That's a question we often ask ourselves. Often we mean in a 'big picture' way, what does He want me to do with my life. Sometimes, though, we mean, "What does He want me to do this week, or today, or this next year?" This question is one we should all ask ourselves often; then bring it to Him to have it answered. God does not call us all to be teachers, or preachers, or missionaries. But God does call us all to do one important thing. -We are to live holy lives before Him.
(I Thes. 4:11, Heb. 12:14, Eph. 1:4, I Peter 1:15, Rom. 12:1, II Peter 3:11)

But what does this mean? How can we do this? Well, for starters we need to remove anything from our lives that takes us away from God's presence and service. Now for different people this can be different things. Some people it may be things like Facebook, video games, certain books, movies, sports, hobbies, or relationships. Often times, these things that we use to remove ourselves from God are not in themselves evil, we just hold them too highly.

After we have removed these things, they also need to be replaced with God-honoring things instead. If we try to remove something without replacing it, we usually end up doing something on the same level as the original problem, maybe even worse. There are many noble, God-honoring pursuits that we can use our time for that we may be skilled at. These things may be direct study of God's Word, taking up a class to teach, or ministering to people around us. Ministering to people does not have to be complex or an official position, it can be deciding to be more available to help out, to share a smile or kind word, or filling some duty that others consider to small to take up their time. Doing these things out of humility for the right reason (to honor and please God) are wonderful ways to fill our time.

But how does this help us fill our calling? Well, thats a good question. Its important to realize that if we are not doing the small things that we can, should, and are called to do, then we will never receive a more specific calling. (Luke 16:10) We should always be wary of desiring more than what we are given; rather we should focus on doing what we are assigned in an excellent manner. (Col. 3:23)

If we are given more, God will require more from us.(Luke 12:48) With this in mind, make sure that what we are already given, whether that that be family, friends, work, or ministry, is being handled in a God-honoring way.

After we have removed those things which hinder us, we need to make sure that we are obeying God's general commands to His people. God will not give us a specific calling if we cannot follow the general calling for all His people.

Sometimes we forget that God is not affected by time. Oh, sure, we know it. But we don't act upon that knowledge. Noah built and labored for 120 years to prepare for a short (but powerful) Flood. Moses prepared for 40 years in Egypt and another 40 in the desert before he was used. Joseph was a servant in a royal house and then a prisoner before he was used to save his people. Jesus was on Earth for 30 years before His public ministry began. God often uses much more time in preparing His people than what the length of the actual ministry is. We need to realize that we may be in our own wilderness or prison experience; or maybe in palace like Moses, learning for the future. We need to trust God and apply ourselves in whatever area He has us in now.

Conclusion

So am I saying we shouldn't desire to have a specific calling? Or that we shouldn't try to have a specific calling? No, what I am saying is that often times we already have a specific calling in our lives we need to improve before we get more responsibilities for the kingdom. May we all work in the calling we already have so that we can improve in the calling that God is also preparing us for.