Did you know God calls you and your calling has five parts, each one building on the next? Dr. Donna Hart, PhD, shares the five ways God calls you, enlightening the deep meaning of “calling.” This article appeared first on Donna’s blog and is used with her permission.
God works with intentional purpose in each one of us. We as the body of believers are each playing our part. We have been made alive in the Spirit with a particular purpose. God repurposes us using every experience and characteristic into His redemptive purpose for us. This all works together as God’s calling on our lives.
The word “calling” has five important meanings to us as Christians and each one builds upon the next.
1. God’s Creation
God calls out to us through all that He has made and all that happens. He calls out to us to know Him through the magnificent beauty of His creation.
Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:19–20, NASB
2. The Gospel
The gospel of Jesus Christ, His goodness, His atoning death, His offered rescue from our sin and mortality call us to come to Him and receive Him for eternal life. We must hear in order to believe, so God’s Word and His servants freely call every human being to come and know Him (Romans 10:13–15).
3. New in Christ
He calls His children to move from death to life. Those who are willing are miraculously humbled and moved to turn to Him, becoming new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). He breaks through our self-will and calls us forth to be a people for Himself.
4. Obedience
God calls us to a life of holiness and thankful obedience (1 Thessalonians 3:12-–4:7). This is the lifelong process of discipleship in which we become formed into His image, more like Jesus.
5. Service
God calls us by tailor-making us and our circumstances so that we serve Him in specific ways (1 Corinthians 12:1–11). This is how we define the specific arenas in which we most fruitfully work and serve.
Living Out Your Calling
How do we gain awareness of our calling? It is progressively revealed to us in the process of living our Christians lives. Our calling is what we are made for, the specific good works which God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10, ESV
Our understanding of our calling grows as we bring together these five strands of our calling. This is our true life vocation and what we are called to do in our situation of life.
Consider and make a list of your gifts and talents. Ask yourself how you are wired and what you are good at. Assess how your life experiences, education, sufferings, or skills affect your ability to serve. Consider your situation of life with its challenges and responsibilities and the people whose lives you can touch. What things bring you pleasure, give you purpose, and ignite your passion?
Now make your list and pray about how God is going to use you for His purposes.
