The Call

I have been struggling a lot with the concept of "my [our] life calling". In light of recent changing life events, I find myself questioning everything I once thought I knew, including my purpose in life. More often than not people really don't know what to say, which makes this a much arduous task to accomplish. So what exactly IS a calling?

Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service. ~Os Guinness

I have been reading this book called The Call by Os Guinness (the same guy who owns Guinness beer), and I have to admit it has been pretty good. Guinness argues that a calling is less related to our vocation, and more our purpose in life.

Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him. First and foremost, we are called so someone [God], not something [e.g. motherhood, politics, teaching] or somewhere [e.g. Africa]. Our Secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and everything should think, speak, live, and act entirely for him... neither work nor career can be fully satisfying without a deeper sense of calling but "calling" itself is empty and indisguishable from work unless there is Someone who calls

That, of course, adds an extra layer to the daunting task of finding what we perceive as "our call". We know whatever we do (much like in missions) is to glorify god in our delight to his greatness. Any and every task we engage in must start with worship and end with worship. I find this to be extremely difficult to accomplish since my life feels like a mess. Of course, Guinness makes sense, but the question becomes why should I feel delighted in God if my life is messed up the way it is? Has God really been there for me? The fact of the matter is that we cannot know our call if we don't abide in the holy spirit, worship him with all our heart_mind_soul_strength and trust in the Lord. It is truly in times of suffering, when we feel least able to praise, that we must turn to God and remember who he is. We cannot trust God if we do not acknowledge who he is as a sovereign and loving god and what he has done for us. We must not allow circumstances be our god; let God be our god. So pray... pray hard... pray until you can see the big picture of who we are in relation to who God is. Pray until he can give you the clear picture of what his call is in our lives.

Consider the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-43. His calling was not made apparent until only after he was sold as a slave by own own kin, been erroneously accused of rape, and spent several years forgotten in jail. We know in the end, God used him to practically save Egypt and in the process he became the most powerful person in the state (something like a prime minister). In spite of all his life circumstances, he still remained faithful to the Lord and worshiped him no matter what. It took years for God to finally reveal his plans and deliver his blessings, but that is the promise that God gives to all of us. I cannot say I have found my calling yet, but I am hopeful that he will deliver it to those who love him and then shower them with his blessings.

Thanks be to God.