30Thrive

This post is part 3 of knowing God’s calling for your life.  Previously I mentioned there are 3 aspects to calling:  WHAT, WHERE, AND HOW.  The WHAT aspect of calling is that all believers are commissioned to share the good news of Christ with the lost. The WHERE is your current location; where you live, work, and play.  The HOW has to do with your individuality.

SHAPE is a helpful acrostic: Spiritual gifts, Heart desires, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences.   It takes time to understand these things about yourself, but you’ll find it quite helpful and freeing when you do.  I always benefit when I better learn myself.  For instance, I used to try to be more extroverted than I actually am.  This was very exhausting and anti-productive.   Now I know I’m relationally at my best after having sufficient alone time to refuel and refocus.  Another example…I used to leave my past in the past, not thinking how my experiences could uniquely connect me to people.  Now I look for ways to connect my past with those I’m reaching out to, providing a natural bridge for sharing my testimony of how Christ transformed me.

There are many helpful materials out there to learn your giftedness and personality type.   You can also excavate your own heart and mind through journaling.  Ask yourself…what are my heart’s desires? When have I been most useful in the kingdom?  What comes naturally to me? What abilities has God allowed me to develop over the years?  What topics make my face light up?  What experiences, pleasant and painful, have shaped my life? How might God use these in my future? Discuss these things with those who know you best.  Ask God for clarity and keep your eyes open for His providential hand at work in your future.

Three additional thoughts on learning your HOW:

Just in the last year have I pinpointed my love for packaging and presenting information.  When I’m writing and speaking on topics that advance God’s kingdom, I am EXTREMELY energized and hopefully useful.  So I suspect this will be my “station” in God’s workplace.  My capacity, audience, and venue may vary, but I’m seeing this as my niche. 

The important thing, however, is that I remember the end game, that all people groups are to hear the gospel and draw us closer to Revelation 7:9-10. So no matter how much I enjoy sitting here typing on my computer, I never want to neglect being in the lives of those around me that don’t know Jesus yet.  That’s a calling ALL believers share, and if you don’t know your specific job yet, at least you know that!  

This post is part 2 of knowing God’s calling for your life.  Previously I mentioned there are 3 aspects to calling:  WHAT, WHERE, AND HOW.  The WHAT aspect of calling is that all believers are commissioned to share the good news of Christ with the lost.  If you’re not on board with this part, the WHERE and the HOW aren’t going to matter much.  

The WHERE has to do with your current location in life.  If you are a working mom, then you are called to share the love of Christ at home and at work because that is where you are.  If you are a student then those in your classes and in your dorm are your WHERE.  Stay at home moms have their family and possibly neighbors or other moms they know from car pools, play dates, soccer practices, etc.  Randy Pope, a pastor in Atlanta, says “where you live, work, and play” is where we live out our calling.

So think about that for a second.  Where do you live?  Are you sharing a roof with anyone who is not a believer in Christ?  Do you have neighbors who need to hear the gospel?  Where do you work or go to school or volunteer?  Are there unbelievers there you could reach out to? And where do you play…the mall, the gym, the spa?  Whose paths do you cross on a regular basis that need to hear about Christ?  

The WHERE aspect is definitely a variable.  It changes for all of us.  There are natural changes because of school, work, or having a child, but sometimes God prompts us to pick up and go for no other reason than taking the gospel to a new place.  My WHERE has changed 6 times since I’ve been married, 5 times because of work related moves and once when I became a mom.   Each change opened the door to new relationships and new opportunities to share Christ. 

Being clear that the WHAT of our calling is always the point and the meaning behind each of our WHERE’s is key to a fulfilling life.  I’m sure we’ve all been in a location that we didn’t love...a city, school, or job that was drudgery.  But if you see your current placement as a divine appointment to accomplish the highest mission, it suddenly takes on a new look.  Feeling useful and productive are great solutions for boredom and discontentment!

I’m pretty sure I would go crazy staying home if I didn’t see the spiritual calling behind my full time mom job.  I literally feel the significance of each moment of teaching, loving, and caring for my children that it satisfies my naturally driven self.  We even only have one car right now but I don’t mind because there is no where I’d rather be than with my family and neighbors.  This is a testimony to God’s grace that He is willing to put feeble men and women in such eternally significant roles!  I LOVE my place in His kingdom!  And I know that when my kids are grown or if we relocate again, my new placement will be just as fulfilling because my overarching calling is always the same.  We truly can bloom where we're planted, no matter where that is.

The next 3 posts are about knowing God’s calling for your life.  I recently attended a Bible study with 10 other women discussing this very topic.  Two things are for sure…it’s a confusing topic for most of us AND we all really desire to know our calling.  Imagine the peace of mind and inner stillness that comes with being right where you are supposed to be!

To define calling, let’s use a metaphor.  Imagine life as God’s gigantic corporation, His workplace for us, filled with millions of jobs.  He’s the CEO and you’re His employee.  Your calling would be your specific placement in this company with a specific task to perform or role to fill that utilizes the abilities He made you with.  Can you see how this could be confusing?  How can I know that I’m working just the right job in God’s enormous company of life?

Well, the whole idea of a calling suggests that there is work to be done.  And when you define that work to be winning lost souls to Christ, the whole thing comes into view and simplifies significantly.  No, I may not yet know exactly my perfect fit in God’s kingdom work where I’m maximizing my SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart desires, Abilities, Personality, Experiences,) but I do know that if I’m sharing my faith with those around me, I’m at least moving in the right direction. 

I learned to share my faith 13 years ago.  I memorized 4 main points with a couple of verse references to go with each point.  Then I learned how to communicate the 4 points in a kind, relational way by watching my friend do it.  It was simpler than I had anticipated.  As I started to try, it became more and more natural.  I can easily fit the gospel into everyday conversations now.  And you know what…some of my friends came to Christ along the way!  Some have even led others to Christ and are still walking with God to this day.  I recently spoke at a women’s retreat for college students where I was blown away to meet a girl who introduced herself to me as my spiritual great, great grandchild!

Now, ask me if I knew my specific placement in God’s workplace back in college when I first started sharing my faith?  No, I could barely articulate my strengths and weaknesses let alone my calling, but God was pleased to use my simple efforts.  And looking back at the last 13 years, they have been without a doubt full of the satisfaction that comes from living out one’s purpose.

With that said, I do have some thoughts on knowing your calling.  There is a WHAT, WHERE, and HOW to your calling.  The WHAT I’ve already mentioned - winning lost souls to Christ.  All believers share this general calling to proclaim the good news of Jesus rescuing us from God’s wrath and our sin.  We proclaim it with our words as well as affirm it with our lives.  Proclamation and Affirmation…I remember it because it rhymes.  The WHERE and HOW aspects are where each of our callings gets more specific.  I’ll address these points in the next 2 posts.

But for now, let’s ask ourselves these questions:  Do you know how to share the gospel?  Can you do it in a kind, relational way?  Is there anyone you can watch to learn how to do it?  Do you have any friends who don’t know Jesus?  Are you praying for them regularly?  How can you show them Christ’s love this week?