What calling has God placed on your life? It might be to serve in a ministry in your church or start a new ministry in your community. Maybe it’s to teach your children about Christ. Perhaps it’s to write or speak. How do you support this calling on your life? How do you begin?
Consider these seven steps:
1. Nurture Your First Love
The tallest skyscraper is only as solid as its foundation. And the higher you want to glorify God in your calling, the deeper your foundation needs to be. So before we can move forward in our calling, our first step is to examine our foundation. How do we nurture our 1st love? In addition to spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading, and Christian fellowship, we begin by nurturing our first love.
Remember how much you are loved by your heavenly Father. First John 3:1 tells us, “See what great love the Father lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” LAVISHED! God doesn’t measure out His love; He lavishes it on us!
2. Find God’s Will
What if God’s will is for us to persevere in our calling without recognition or a large following? What if He wants us to use our calling as a gift in our church’s ministry, or encourage people in a nursing home?
The key to discovering God’s will is to seek it wholeheartedly by releasing our own agendas instead of seeking to confirm them. Let’s hold our plans loosely to make room for His revisions!
3. Guard Against the Enemy’s Lies
The most believable lies are ones mixed with a little bit of truth. The snake’s temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden is a prime example. Let’s respond to common lies we hear about our calling, such as “You’re not good enough” or “You’ll never achieve your goals.”
The truth is found in the first seven verses of the book of Ephesians. These verses describe how God views us: blessed, chosen, predestined to adoption, redeemed, and forgiven. And God did it all: He blessed us, chose us, redeemed us, and forgave us. The enemy is right: we’re not good enough on our own. But we’re not on our own as we use our gifts, abilities, and talents to fulfill our calling.
4. Persevere Through Dry Times
Since disappointments, difficulties, and the enemy’s attacks are part of life, let’s consider how to persevere through them.
Did you know the lubricant WD-40 got its name because the first 39 experiments failed? WD-40 literally stands for “Water Displacement – 40th Attempt.” Imagine your squeaky doors if the inventors had given up after the 39th try!
Whether 40 or 140 attempts to fulfill what God is directing you to do, don’t give up. The Holy Spirit will strengthen you to persevere.
5. Time Management vs. Time Stewardship
Change your perspective by shifting from time management to time stewardship.
I no longer use the term time management, because I cannot “manage” time. I can’t create more time and I cannot gift myself more time, as much as I might want to. You see, I don’t own time. It’s entrusted to me by God for His purposes.
We’re stewards of the time allotted to us. A steward is one who takes care of something belonging to someone else. We’ve been entrusted with the gift of time from God. And it’s important to view ourselves as stewards.
6. Step into Your Calling in Faith
To be conscious of our calling is to be aware of the privilege of being used by God to advance His kingdom. But in the New Testament, Jude began his letter by addressing it to those who are called, loved, and kept (Jude 1:1-2).
As we minister God’s love to others in our calling, we may forget we’re also recipients of that love. We’re also kept. Our heavenly Father sustains us and protects us. He seals us by His Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). We have everything we need in order to do all He has called us to do. More importantly, we have everything we need to be all He has called us to be—chosen, loved, adopted, redeemed, and sealed.
The order is important. Identity comes before service. Being comes before doing. Reveling in His mercy, peace, and love comes before ministry in His name.
7. Trust God’s Timing
In the third chapter of Acts, Peter healed a beggar at the temple gate. This beggar, lame from birth, had been placed at the gate every day to beg from those entering the temple courts. If he was there every day, did you ever wonder why Jesus didn’t heal him? Yet a few verses later in Acts 4:1-4, we learn that after the healing, Peter and John taught the people, proclaiming Jesus. Five thousand who heard the message believed. In God’s perfect timing, this man’s healing ultimately led to the faith of 5,000 people!
My prayer is that these seven steps will help you in support of your God-given calling as you discover how to find God’s will, step out by faith in love, manage your time, and press through the tough times.
Which of these seven steps do you need to focus on cultivating?
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Have you read Flourish?
Ever felt that you needed more of the fruit of the Spirit?
More peace? More patience? More joy?
Consider reading
Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ!
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Activities include monthly challenges focusing on individual aspects of
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Our next monthly challenge will begin June 1 with the Spirit’s fruit: kindness.
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