Answering God's Call
In the big picture of life, there are few questions that beg to be answered as much as “What is God’s will for my life?” Additionally, it can be very overwhelming answering God's call on your life. I’ve had countless discussions with people over the past decade on this very topic. In Christian circles, especially those in Christian Colleges and ministry related fields, the topic of God’s will is often mulled over.
In our efforts of answering God's call for our lives, we often miss the hand of God working at guiding our search. Personally, I’ve struggled over the years to really discern God’s call in my life. At times, I have had my vision, motivation, and direction misguided by various endeavors. Other times, I’ve been laser focused on answering God’s call on my life.
So, how do you really answer God’s call on your life? How do you even know what God’s call on your life is? What I’ve discovered is that the process of figuring this out is intensely personal, but it cannot be figured out on your own. Left to our own devices, we get comfortable just living the lives that we have. We need some stimulus to force us to think outside of ourselves. For me, I spent a lot of time reading books, listening to podcasts, sending hounding emails, annoying my wife, and much time on my knees in prayer. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been there. You’ve arrived at some conclusion as to God’s call, and then made a choice to either step out in faith and follow or sit or wallow. Frankly, I’ve chosen to wallow far more than I’ve chosen to follow.
Really, it isn’t that hard to answer God’s call. All we have to do is just that. Answer. God talks, we listen and do. Pretty easy, right? The Bible is filled with stories of people on both sides of the coin; those who listened and those who didn’t. Reading Hebrews 11 is like reading a roll call for people who heard from God and did what he said. From Abel to the pioneers of the New Testament Church, God had some pretty crazy ideas! Taking on crazy missions from building boats in the desert to hand delivering the Gospel to unbelieving nations, these faith filled people took God at his word and moved. For you and I, that is all we need to do, too. We need to have the faith (being certain of that which we do not see – Hebrews 1) to follow God wherever he calls.
Tips for answering God’s call on your life:
- Surrender yourself in prayer
- Think about the recurring themes in your life. Where have you missed God speaking?
- Where do your greatest passions/desires intersect with the world’s greatest need?
- What do you just love to do?
- Talk to those who know you best.
What is your struggle? Do you have any ideas about what God is calling you to do? Do you need help answering God’s call? Maybe it is as simple as deciding to follow him…I don’t know, but I do know that answering God’s call has been the most freeing experience of my life. Won’t you join me?
