Two anonymous questions:
– How did you figure out what you wanted to do with your life? People tell me things will just “work out” but it really doesn’t help my nerves about the future. How do I align my dreams with God’s dreams so I don’t waste time pursuing stuff He doesn’t want me to do? How do you even discover your calling?
– Do you have any advice for discerning God’s call? I hear voices pulling me in different directions, but it is hard for me to distinguish God’s. Sometimes I wonder if I am just affirming my desires, not God’s vision for my life. I received a sign last year … but I haven’t experienced this immediacy since. How can I awaken myself to what God intends for my future?
Hey friends, please allow me the grace to share some previous posts on this.
– Four Thoughts About Finding God’s Will
– Being Called To Something, Or Not
– Everyone Is Telling Me What To Do
As you figure our God’s Will for you, here are some things to consider:
1) Your dream will not always be dreamy.
Sometimes we get confused with “having peace” about a decision when we’re really just picking what is easiest. If you want to read an amazing story, check out the life of Manute Bol, one of the tallest basket players in the NBA who became a Christian missionary and died during missions in Sudan. I believe he followed God’s Will, even though it was incredibly hard.
2) If you’re not sure of God’s call, look at your life in retrospect.
I remember hearing a pastor say that if you’re not sure of God’s Will on your life, then keep doing the last thing God called you to do. What is most consistent with the momentum of your life? Keep writing that story.
3) Find a need, serve the need.
Maybe this sounds like a kitschy catchphrase, but many of us end up finding our calling when we roll up our sleeves and begin serving the broken. Even if you’re already knee-deep in a career, there are tons of ways you can leverage your ambitions to serve others’ needs, both locally and globally. Ask yourself: How does the Gospel most effectively pour through your own life?
4) God cares about the kind of person you’re becoming.
God has a Moral Will and a Sovereign Will. The moral will is His “Command Will” and the sovereign will is His “Planned Will.” God’s Command Will is simply following Christ by the grace of God so that your transformed heart is ever pursuing him. God’s Planned Will is His own secret metanarrative of human history. Sometimes it’s revealed to us in glimpses, but it’s hardly ever the normal thing to get signs and visions everyday. As you become a certain type of person, God will reveal layers of His plan to you as He opens doors and creates provdential opportunities.
5) God wants you to be happy.
I know we define happiness in a myriad of weird ways, many of which are problematic. But God does want you to find joy in what you’re doing. What tasks give you the most joy? What would you do if money was not an issue? What are some childhood dreams that you gave up on because they were too “childish”? It’s okay to fight for your joy.
6) Talk to mentors, leaders, pastors, and experienced people.
Get with anyone who is a little older and wiser, and ask them tons of annoying questions. Bring a notepad (not a phone: your brain uses different muscles when you write with your hand). God has set specific people near you to teach you what they know. You’d be surprised how much people are willing to pour out for you. Ask them to pray for you, to spend a day or two with them at what they do, and get to know their families. If anything, you will have made a new friend, and this is God’s Will too.
J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain, Skeptical Christian 