The Called Man : Properly Discerning the Call of God on Your Life

Or you might become convinced that teaching troubled youth is more pressing than joining a band. It would be pointless to get a job counseling troubled youth, only to neglect your own children. The point is that God has given everyone the ability to recognize something of what the world needs. He seems to expect us to notice it and get to work, rather than waiting for a special call from him. There is no biblical formula for translating the needs of the world into a precise job calling.

The second consideration is your skills and gifts.

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The Bible says that God gives people gifts for accomplishing the work he wants them to do, and it names some of the gifts and skills that God imparts:. Do those who plow for sowing plow continually? Do they continually open and harrow their ground? When they have leveled its surface, do they not scatter dill, sow cummin, and plant wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border? For they are well instructed; their God teaches them. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

As the last two passages show, when Paul discusses the gifts of the Spirit, he is usually referring to their use in the church. But if all work done by Christians is done for the Lord Colossians 3: Gifts assessment tools can be very helpful for discerning your gifts and exploring how they relate to various types of work. The most rigorous, statistically-verified tools are typically available through professional counselors and institutions because they require qualified interpretation.

Global Personality Inventory developed on a truly global basis. While these are not explicitly Christian in their language, they can, with a skilled, Christian interpreter become starting points for exploring God's gifts and his guidance to work. There are also explicitly Christian tools with a conscious spiritual and theological foundation. Christian career counselors can be found in most urban areas, in almost every Christian college and university setting, and in some individual churches.

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However, it is easy to pay too much attention to your skills and gifts. The present generation of westerners is the most gift-analyzed in human history, yet this penchant for analysis can lead to self-absorption, crowding out attention to the needs of the world. These passages say that God gives gifts for the common good, not personal satisfaction.

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Paying too much attention to the gifts you already have can keep you from receiving the gifts God wants to give you. Nonetheless, the gifts you already have may give you some indication about how to best meet the needs of the world. Career guidance via skills and gifts is a difficult balancing act, which is why it must be sought in the midst of relationship with God and fellow Christians.

Here again, we must not become focused on work to the exclusion of the rest of life. This verse Romans See Isabel Myers, Gifts Differing: Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. Christians sometimes expect that if God calls them to some job, it will be something they hate. Otherwise, why would God have to call them to it? But the best missionaries have a great desire for the place and people they serve. Besides, who says God wants you to be a missionary?

However, it can be exceedingly difficult to get in touch with your truest or deepest desires. Our motivations become so confused by sin and the brokenness of the world that our apparent desires are often far from the true desires that God has implanted in the depths of our hearts. But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead….

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Joanna Gaines, co-host of HGTV's "Fixer Upper," shares how following God's direction — even while questioning it — has led to experiences beyond her wildest dreams. And the opposite is often true. The work that would fulfill your true desire appears at first to be undesirable, and may require great sacrifice and difficult labor. And your truest desires may be met in many areas of life, not necessarily in work.

But at least you can get rid of the idea that God only calls you to something you hate. In this light, Frederick Buechner writes: Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: These three considerations — the needs of the world, your skills and gifts, and your truest desires — are guides, but they are not absolutes.

For one thing, in a fallen world, you may have very little ability to choose your job anyway. Rather, it seems that circumstances prevent most people from choosing jobs they truly desire to do. It simply means that God is with you wherever you work. What does calling mean if you hate your job?

Even in the developed economies, many people have little choice about the kind of work they do for a living. In Christ, believers have perfect freedom:. That means you have the freedom to take risks, to fail, and to make mistakes. Would you be willing to take that job? Take heart, at the end, you will not be judged on getting the right job or fulfilling your God-given potential. The body of Christ on earth is the community of believers Romans We have already seen that the needs of the world a form of community are important as you discern what kind of work God is leading you towards.

What do they experience as your gifts and skills, the needs of the world, and the deepest desires they discern in you? The community is also an essential element in discerning who is led to the different kinds of work needed in the world. Many people may have similar gifts and desires that can help meet the needs of the world. But it may not be that God wants all of them to do the same work. You need to discern not only the work God is leading you to, but also the work he is leading others to. The community needs a balanced ensemble of workers working in harmony.

One by one, medical students are matching their gifts, desires and the needs of the world to discern a leading toward medicine.

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But all-in-all, the ensemble of physicians is becoming a bit unbalanced. Many Christians have the impression that church workers — especially evangelists, missionaries, pastors, priests, ministers and the like — have a higher calling than other workers. While there is little in the Bible to support this impression, by the Middle Ages, "religious" life — as a monk or nun — was widely considered holier than ordinary life. Regrettably, this distortion remains influential in churches of all traditions, even though the doctrine of virtually every church today affirms the equal value of the work of lay people.

In the Bible, God calls individuals both to church-related and non-church-related work. Then bring near to you your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests — Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. Rather it shows that God calls people in all walks of life.

He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah. Given the Biblical evidence, it would be inaccurate to think that God calls church workers but not other types of workers. However, as in the Bible itself, these situations are rarely direct, unmistakable, personal calls from God. Rather, they may describe a strong sense of guidance by God. All Christians are called that is, commanded to conduct everything they do, round the clock, as full-time service to Christ:.

Before concluding our discussion on this point, we should note that one stream of thought views 1 Timothy 5: According to this perspective, being a church elder roughly equivalent to a pastor or priest in modern church usage is in fact a higher calling. But most Bible commentaries reject this interpretation. Alternately, the contrast may be between elders who volunteer in their spare time and elders who work full time for the church.

It means that elders who work full-time for the church, and who do it well, deserve to be paid well by the church. For example, jobs requiring murder, adultery, stealing, false witness or greed Exodus People whose circumstances lead them to illegitimate work are not necessarily bad people. He quit that job to go create a financial planning and wealth management firm.

A call to ministry or church work is no more sacred than a call to other types of work. What matters most is not one's job title or place of work, but obedience to God, the one who calls us. Thomas Nelson, , The importance of being prepared when it comes to choosing a job, or walking away from one Click to listen. If God leads or guides people to their work, could it ever be legitimate to change jobs? Martin Luther, the 16 th century Protestant theologian, famously argued against changing jobs.

This was based largely on his understanding of this passage:. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. If you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. Miroslav Volf has written that since the factors by which God guides people to work may change over the course of a working life, God may indeed guide people to change their work. He may lead you to bigger tasks that require you to change jobs. Conversely, if you become a Christian later in life, might God require you to change jobs?

It might seem that finding new life in Christ means getting a new job or career. However, generally, this is not the case. Unless your job is of the illegitimate type discussed earlier, or unless the job or colleagues threaten to keep you stuck in unchristian habits, there may be no need to change jobs.

However, whether you change jobs or not, you probably need to do your work differently than before, paying attention now to biblical commands, values, and virtues, as happened with Zacchaeus the tax collector:. The main reading is more ambiguous: Miroslav Volf, Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work New York: Oxford University Press, , How you work is at least as important to God as what job or profession you have.

Your decision every day to serve God today is more important than positioning yourself for the right job tomorrow. Over a lifetime, you can serve Christ best by making the most of every job for his purposes, whether you feel called to every job or not. The specifics of how to follow Christ in the workplace are covered in a number of topical articles by the Theology of Work Project, available at www. How do you plug your heart and soul into a job that you are just not into, one that is so far removed from what you imagined for yourself, clearly under-utilizing your gifts and capabilities?

In doing so, we are trying to correct the long-standing tendency to regard ordinary work as unimportant to God and unworthy of his calling. But it would be equally wrong to elevate the importance of your job or profession to a position of idolatry. Getting the right job does not bring salvation, or even happiness. Moreover, the true aim of work for the Christian is to serve the common good, not to advance his or her own interests. Journeys into the Mind, Heart and Imagination of God. Pope John Paul II. On Human Work Laborem Exercens. The Biblical Doctrine of Work.

Also, like the Theology of Work Project, he used a process designed to invite wide participation and response, which is incorporated in the published draft. We do not necessarily agree with his conclusions or biblical views, but we find his book highly thought-provoking. Meaning and Motivation for the Marketplace. Eerdmans, , especially chapters 1 and 2. Discerning Our Calling in Life. The Fabric of This World: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation.

Edwin Mellen Press, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. We're grateful to God that we've accomplished many of our objectives to help people engage with the Bible's wisdom for their work. Help us finish the year strong. We ask that you prayerfully consider joining us in this work! As Christians, we are called to work towards "shalom"—comprehensive flourishing—in everything we do.

Last month, Mark Labberton, the president of Fuller Seminary and our personal friend published an incredibly important Could giftedness be one of the key ways to discern your calling? In this interview with the Theology of Work Project, For Christians, everything matters, because we believe that God is at work in our world I once made a list of the best things that ever happened in my career, and I was responsible for almost none of them. The Bible describes the function of these ministers and also describes the qualifications they must possess.

Based on these, Allen frames his book around ten important questions. Perhaps best of all is the constant call to seek and receive the affirmation of a local church, for the call to the ministry is not merely an internal call that a man feels but an external call he receives from those who have been called before him. This is an emphasis sorely lacking in too many similar books but present and repeated here.

The church is in desperate need of men who are willing, who are skilled, who are called. This book may be exactly what they need to evaluate themselves, to hear the call, and to heed the call. The accolades are well-earned and I gladly add my commendation to theirs. This little book is an excellent primer on the what, why, and how of the call to ministry. It is a book for pastors to have on-hand and to distribute freely. In lieu of a comments section, I accept and encourage letters to the editor.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, you can do so here. Reviews Latest Reviews By Category.