What is God’s Calling?

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:6)

Working with teens, I get questions that revolve one topic more than any other (while it is a close competition to sex because, come on, they’re teens). The idea of what God wants with our lives comes up frequently, especially at the start and end of each school year. I think many Christ followers, me included, have wrongly represented the message of Christ as esoteric or something that can only be understood with deep study and prayer. Recently I have had the revelation that His message is rather simple and we, as humans often do, make it complicated. We also have the misguided notion that there is a specific and detailed plan for each of us that God ordained before the foundation of time. With this mindset, no wonder we get frustrated, bouncing from job to job, ministry to ministry, trying to find our elusive fit. The fact might be that where you are, is where you’re called. I have always loved what Augustine says about this topic: “Love God, then do what you want.”

We struggle with the words of Augustine for two reasons. First, it has a free wielding philosophy that implies that life might actually be fun. As believers, we should have the most fun on the planet because we have a deep reason to. We no longer have to feel guilty or punish ourselves. Second, this mindset puts a lot of our calling on our shoulders. This is delicate because we are to constantly called to lay things down in front of our savior, but we are also intended to pick things up – responsibility for our continued growth in love.

The fact may be that God’s calling is less like a detailed blueprint and more like a compass pointing us in a general direction.

Today, pray for wisdom. This verse in James is a guaranteed ‘yes’. When we go to our Lord in humility, He provides His direction because of His great love for his kids. He doesn’t have a hidden plan for your life that you need to suffer and “escape your comfort zone” in order to find. He will give you the power to be called exactly where you are or embolden you to go beyond the boundaries of your current life. So today, saint, live boldly in the wisdom that only He provides.