God has a calling on your life. If you are willing, God will use you. And He will use you not by how you imagined He would, but by His imagination. “But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk…” (1 Corinthians 7:17).
Never fear being used by God. Even in your mistakes, He will cause them to be used for His glory.
Your calling is unique
Your calling is as unique as you are. Only you can hear it and only you can live it. It is not for a saint to select their own calling, but to listen to what the Lord has ordained them to be.
Never copy a calling designed for another, because you are not them. And likewise, never assign your calling to another, for they are not you. If you do not know your calling, then wait and listen to the One calling you.
Never allow another with a strong calling to deter you from all the Lord would have you do. It is not that their calling is wrong, but it is not yours.
God designed you perfectly just the way you are. He shaped you through every circumstance. Nobody is better prepared for His calling on your life than you are. “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).
Listen for the call
You have a calling, but will you listen? Your calling is never what you say, but what you hear. Your calling cannot be taken away, but only ignored by you. When God gives you a calling that makes no sense to the world, it is then you are walking on Kingdom principles.
So many are paralyzed waiting for a calling. Until you know your calling, serve in everything you can. He calls the ones who are near to Him. Stephen answered the lowest call of service in the Church before he did his greatest works. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). And then he was martyred. Never think your calling will be easy.
So many get stuck seeking a calling to a higher position. Get over yourself and just serve God. You don’t get to choose. And if you had any idea of the cost behind higher positions, you would pray not to be chosen for any of them. Lose the idealistic view that ministry is easy. Ministry is a battle, it is a fight to the finish. Some of the worst combatants are in the very ministry you serve in. Humbly seek your calling, for God never chooses the proud.
Never think God is impressed by your abilities. They are often the greatest hindrance to your true calling. It is not by your abilities that He will work through you, but by your weaknesses. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27).
Don’t Seek the Title
Do not seek the title, but live the life that the title would seek you. A man or woman of God does not need a title to live their calling. And in fact, it is often the titles they seek that hinder the life they should live. Live your title, and people will call you by what you do. It is better to live a title without one, than to have one that you do not live.
God is calling you to something great, not to be great. Your calling is not all about what you do, but who you are. The LORD God “…has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose…” (2 Timothy 1:9). Never seek to be seen, but only live to seek God.
The higher calling is not a greater portion but an absolute surrender. Jesus is not calling you to a bigger life, but a higher life. It is not what you say you are that matters, but who you are.
Once you get the title, you better be prepared to live it. “And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt” (2 Samuel 8:13). God chose David to be a king, but it was up to David to act like one. Never think that your calling will not require a battle. Every calling has battles.
Step into your calling today
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). They are irrevocable, but you still have to take hold of them. Nobody can steal your calling, but you must take hold. To write a book, start with a sentence. To begin a ministry, start ministering. To speak to crowds, speak to individuals. Every journey must have a beginning, so begin.
That “…God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him…” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).
Nobody can take away your gifts or nullify your calling. But unless you take hold, then you do not have. Many are called, few will listen, and only the remnant will respond. Be the remnant. Do you want to know where your ministry is? It is right where you are.
Minister to those that God has placed before you. Whoever God puts in your path, love them that they would see God in you. Whatever circumstances God puts you in, let others see you trusting God in them. Ministry is not a position or a cause, rather it is a way of life. Live the life.
Pour out what the Lord has already poured in, or you will get nothing more.
Blessings to you,
Paul