My pastor used this phrase a lot in his sermons when I was growing up: discern your calling. I could count on hearing it every few Sundays. It was a good phrase - and I will honestly admit that as a teenager, I really didn't know what it meant. So instead of sitting in the pew, and trying to discern my calling, I usually just thought about what I was going to have for lunch.
But, now that I am 22 years old, I've had a little experience with discerning my calling. Sure, in middle school and high school, the administration sets up those "career days" for students. They ask you what do you want to be or who do you want to be? I got sent to the funeral home director info session, and let me tell you, I was far less than excited about that!
As we grow older, and as we grow in our faith, the real question we have to ask ourselves is who is God calling me to be? We have to discern the calling that God has placed on our lives. That takes a lot of prayer, a lot of patience, and a willingness to walk by faith.
Here is something I've come to understand lately: there is more than one calling that God has put on my life. He has not done so to overwhelm me, or to give me a choice between a few different callings. I am not just called to be a dietitian. I have already been called to be a loving, and giving friend. I have been called to be a big sister/older cousin/babysitter/camp counselor, who leads a life that shows God's glory. I have been called to be an obedient and loving daughter.
I believe God is also calling me to be a leader in my church. I think one day He is calling me to be a wife, and then a mother. These are just a few of the possibilities!
Now let me jump to another anecdote for a moment: I got a new phone just recently. It's probably the least smart, smart phone that you can buy in the United States - but I'm really excited about the group messaging feature! I know, you're probably wondering what rock I've lived under for the last decade...the phone does what it needs to do. Calls, texts, comforts me when I'm lonely...(you can laugh, that was a joke).
There is one feature that I will never be able to figure out on any phone: call waiting. Every time that I am on a call with someone, and another one comes through, I end up hanging up on one of the people.
So back to God's callings. Sometimes there is one calling we try to focus on in our lives - one that we place above all others. For some of us at this point, we are going headstrong after that calling to be a husband or wife. For others, we are charging after the dream career. It could be anything. There are all these calls that are coming through to us - and the one we want most has us on hold!
God has put several callings on our life - and He lead us into fulfilling those callings in his own timing. We have to be willing to listen to God - the God who knows the desires of our hearts. He wants to fulfill those desires in His own time. We have got to be willing to set aside our own agenda, and listen to what God wants from us. One day that call will come through, and the boss will offer you the job. Or that guy will take you on that first date.
In the Bible we read about a traditional practice that is still used in some religious ceremonies today: anointing. Anointing involves rubbing oil on a person's head to both bless them and proclaim God's calling on their lives. In Luke chapter 7, we read the story of a woman who brings an expensive alabaster jar to Jesus, which contains even more expensive oil. This woman has walked a rough road up to this point in her life. She is unclean and sinful. But she brings this oil to Jesus, to bless Him and proclaim His calling.
The Pharisees always have to get a word in there. They make sure Jesus knows how low and unclean this woman is. But Jesus puts a stop to their whining. The woman's gesture is borne out of love. It is important. It reminds us that just as God puts callings on our lives, He is the same God that put the calling on Jesus' life to conquer sin and death.
So we have not only been called, but anointed. We have been blessed with these callings, to allow blessings to flow out from us.
"You call me out upon the waters. The great unknown, where feet may fail...Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders."
~Oceans
~SP
