What Is Your Calling?

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Summary

Most of us wonder if we’re truly following our calling. Did we miss the signs and go the wrong way? Or are we on the right track. Let’s talk about what calling really is and how to find yours.

Podcast Transcript

Intro

Have you ever wondered what your calling is? Do you worry that you’re missing out on the amazing calling God has for you? Maybe you’re worried that you’re walking down the wrong path, or that you’re wasting your time. Today, I’m going to help you identify your calling and show you how to protect and follow that calling.

Welcome

Welcome to the One Spiritual Journey podcast. I’m Brigette, and today, we’re talking about your calling.

I have experienced so much fear and anxiety about my calling. I worry that I’m missing it; I worry that I’m messing it up. And, if that’s you today, I just want to encourage you that it doesn’t work that way. My attribute of God for the month of February was God’s Decrees, which is technically just His Decree. And it basically means His purpose or His will. He has one purpose and one will, and He was set it in place from the beginning of time. We can’t mess that up. That’s what scripture tells us.

It’s understandable that we might be afraid that we’re not on the right track, but we don’t have to be have to be afraid that we’re going to mess up all of eternity because we don’t know what our calling is. So, if you have anxieties like that, like I do, take a deep breath. Today I’m going to help you out. We’re going to be talking about three things: what a calling is, how we identify our calling, and how to make sure you’re pursuing your calling. Are you ready? Ok, let’s start with what a calling is.

What A Calling Is

So, let’s define calling. Essentially, a calling is a purpose. It’s something we do. Maybe it’s something that people know us for. It’s a focus and a priority in our life. It’s a way for us to contribute to the world. Now our idea of calling largely comes from the world. It comes from movies and books, basically media. I like to blame Hollywood for the way that we look at calling. And Hollywood got a few things wrong.

I’m going to be using Spiderman as an example because I’ve been watching the new cartoon, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman”, which was awesome, by the way. And Spiderman is pretty well-known so I figure if I use that as an example everyone will kind of understand what I’m talking about. But I want to address three lies that Hollywood has told us.

Lie #1: Your Calling Will Satisfy and Fulfill You

The first lie that Hollywood has told us is that your calling will satisfy and fulfill you. The truth that we find in scripture is that only God can truly satisfy and fulfill us.

If you expect your calling to make you feel fulfilled and satisfied, it is going to disappoint you.

We get the sense that Spiderman would be miserable if he was not Spiderman. But the reality is we cannot rely on a calling or a mission or a singular purpose to make us happy, to make us feel satisfied and fulfilled. Only God can truly satisfy us, so we have to lean into Him and look to Him for satisfaction, not the calling, or the calling is just going to disappoint you.

Lie #2: Your Calling Makes You Who You Are

Number two, the second lie that Hollywood has told us, is that your calling makes you who you are.

Here’s a question for you: Is Peter Parker still a big deal if he’s not Spiderman? Are you still a big deal if you’re not, blank? If you’re not a mom? If you’re not a great designer? A great artist? Or a great writer? If you’re not a great…I’m trying to think of something that isn’t in the creative sphere because that’s kind of where I’m at.

But the idea is, if you are not doing x,y, or z, are you still a big deal? Are you still important? Most of us believe the lie that if we are not doing that super-special-important calling, that we’re not a big deal. That we’re not important. That we don’t matter.

But who we are isn’t about what we do, it’s about who God made us.

If you expect your calling to make you someone different and to make you important and special and worthy of love, your calling is going to disappoint you.

Lie #3: You Will Have One Big Calling And It Will Not Change

The third lie that Hollywood tells us is that you will have one big calling and it will not change. This is not true. You will have, and you currently have, lots of callings, big and small.

Peter Parker is more than Spiderman. I know that people might want to argue that, but the reality is if Peter Parker was real, he is also a nephew. He is loved by his aunt. He is a friend, a good friend, who encourages and helps his friends work through moral issues. That happened in the comic books, and the movies and the current show. He helps his friends work through moral issues.

Peter Parker is a scientist. He is creative and he makes technology that a teenager should not be able to create. Peter Parker can do a lot of things and his calling extends beyond him simply being Spiderman.

Change the Narrative

So I want to change the question that we ask. We often ask, what is my calling? And I want to change that narrative to, what are my callings? Plural. What are my callings?

And I also want to impress upon you that callings are going to change and we need to be flexible with that. We cannot identify ourselves with one particular calling. That’s why it’s so important to understand that a calling cannot satisfy or fulfill us. Because when callings are just for a season, they come and go. And if we become attached to the, we’re going to have a hard time letting go when it’s time to let go. Callings may be callings just for a season, and we need to be flexible with that.

So, What Is A Calling?

So, I haven’t answered the question yet, but, what is a calling?

Our callings are the roles that we choose to carry out our mission.

This is how Jordan Raynor defines callings in his book, “Redeeming Your Time.” He has this practice, this chart, called the “5 Floors of Priority”, and I will link that book and the chart in the show notes. But basically, the chart looks like a house with five floors and a basement. And the top floor is labeled “Mission”, and our mission is “to glorify God”. That is universal. Everyone’s mission is to glorify God.

Callings and Roles

Our Callings come out of that. So the next floor down is labeled “Callings” and our callings are “the roles that we choose to carry out our mission”, our mission being, “to glorify God”. A “role” is a part you play. Like, imagine you’re in a play and you play a character. That’s called a “role”. We have big roles and small roles, but not all of them deserve the title of “Calling”. Not all of them are roles that God is asking us to prioritize in order to glorify Him.

Now, I don’t want you to get confused here, because everything that we do should be to the glory of God. But we cannot to everything, and everything cannot be a priority. So that means we need to consider what roles God has given us and what roles we have given ourselves. And we need to decide which roles deserve our absolute top priority.

Calling Isn’t Complicated

Now, you probably came to this podcast thinking, I just want to learn what my purpose is. I want to learn what my calling is. But it’s not as complicated as the world makes it sound.

You’re not looking for one big thing. You’re looking for a lot of different things that God has probably already called you to.

So many people believe that their calling comes from outside of them. That it’s something that happens completely separate from them. They get that phone call one day, somebody recognizes their talents, etc. That something happens outside of them that suddenly propels them into this amazing story and this amazing purpose and amazing calling. But, that’s not really what calling looks like. Calling is simply using the roles that God has given you to glorify Him. And it’s not about us feeling good or using our gifts. Although feeling good about our calling and our calling using our gifts is common and normal, our calling is still not about us. It’s about carrying out a role in a way that glorifies God.

My Callings

In a minute, I’m going to teach you how to identify your callings. But my callings are wife, mom, and creative. And that has been both hard and easy. For me, it’s a no-brainer that being a wife and being a mom are callings. Scripture is really clear about the importance of parenting and helping your child and teaching your child and disciplining your child. And scripture is also really clear about how marriage is a picture, a reflection of Christ and the church, and how important it is to have a healthy marriage and to pursue your spouse and to grow closer to God with your spouse. So, to me, I cannot deny begin a wife and a mom being callings. I mean, that’s just a no-brainer.

But there are some days that I don’t want being a wife and being a mom to be my callings. I don’t want to prioritize my husband and my daughter. I don’t want to do the things that I need to do, that God has called me to do, really. Because I’d rather my calling was a little more about myself. Which is like, really hard and gross to admit. I also want a very cool calling where somebody, you know, calls me one day and recognizes my talents or my abilities and says, “hey, can you do this super-special-awesome thing so that everyone knows you’re so great?”

What Callings Are About

But that’s not what calling is about. Calling is about the things that God has given us, the roles that He has given us that we can use to glorify Him. And when we start to treat our roles and treat our callings as ways to glorify God, it changes our mindset. It changes our hearts about pursuing our callings. And recognizing that our purpose might not be the big, grand thing the world says it should be, but our purpose is still good and it’s still God-given and it glorifies Him, and that is what matters the most.

How We Identify Our Callings

So if we want to identify our callings, we have to start by listing our our roles. Your roles are the parts that you play. There are big roles and there small roles. So , for me, some big roles are I am a mom and I’m a wife. Some small ones: I am a toddler teacher once a month at church. I am a sister and a daughter; sometimes roles like that can be big roles, but at this point in my life, being a sister and being a daughter don’t take up as much space. They don’t need as much priority at this point in my life. So, those aren’t callings, those are just smaller roles. I’m also a church member and I’m a mentor.

We often look for callings that we don’t already have. But God has likely given you callings He wants you to focus on already. Like I already mentioned, if God has given you the role of a spouse or a parent, that’s a calling. And if we don’t identify and clarify our callings, we end up saying “yes” and giving our energy to things that don’t matter. Things that God hasn’t asked us to do.

Make A List

So, make a list of the roles that you play and then pray over that list and try to narrow it down to 2-4 callings. I believe that’s what Jordan Raynor recommends in his book. Now, I’m not saying that you have to dismiss all of the other callings. Like I just mentioned, I have smaller roles like being a toddler teacher once a month at church. And I’m not saying that you have to give that up. What I am saying, is that is not of the highest priority. And that’s one of those things where, if my main callings started to demand more time and attention, I might need to let go of some of those smaller roles. Sometimes we can let go of those smaller roles; Sometimes we can’t.

I also want to clarify that what I’m talking about right now is being intentional. You already prioritize some things over others. What I’m asking you to do is identify the 2-4 things that you should be prioritizing over everything else. The 2-4 things roles that you play that you should be prioritizing over all the other roles. And we’re doing this, not to get a sense of identity or to define who we are, but to say, “God, these are my priorities and I want to glorify you in those. How do I do that?”

Journaling Practice

So, once you have those 2-4 callings, I want you to sit down and journal through the following questions. I know journaling isn’t for everybody, but this will really help you understand what your calling looks like and where you’re going with it.

So, the first question is, what does my calling look like? If your calling is a wife, what does that look like? What can you do to serve and love your husband? What can you do to grow your marriage? And what does it look like to be a wife in a way that glorifies God?

Number two, what does it look like to make this calling a priority? This is basically, what do I need to say “yes” to, and what do I need to say “no” to.

And then number three, what do I need to accomplish my calling? This is all about things like resources, rest, things like that. So, for example, maybe to accomplish your calling you need a new laptop. Or maybe you need to put your kids in daycare once a weeks so you have more time to work on your calling. Maybe you need to change your sleep schedule, get up earlier so you can get some work done before the day starts and go to bed earlier so you have the energy to get up earlier. Things like that.

So I will put those three journaling questions in the show notes for you so that you have them and you can journal through them. And once you’re done with that let’s talk about point number three, how to make sure you’re pursuing your callings.

How to Make Sure You’re Pursuing Your Callings

I have three ways to help you make sure you’re pursuing your callings.

1. You want to review your callings regularly.

I look over my callings once a week. I have a weekly meeting and one of the tasks that I do is I read through my callings and like, the little description of my calling. Which you could get from that journaling exercise. I make sure that I have goals and tasks for the week and for the month that align with those callings. And I do this while I plan my week so I can make sure I’m scheduling tasks and making room for my callings on my calendar.

For example, nap-time is when I do my ministry work. It’s when I do my creative work. I try really hard not to schedule anything else in the afternoon so that I have that time to work on my ministry and do my creative work while my daughter is napping.

2. Say “no” to the things that don’t fit.

The second thing you can do is say “no” to the things that don’t fit. This is so much easier when you have a weekly meeting which is why I highly recommend having one. I also recommend not saying “yes” immediately when someone asks you to do something, even if you want to do it. You need to create a system for asking yourself, “can I actually manage this? Can I add this to my schedule, or is it going to interrupt my callings? Is it going to interrupt my priorities? Your callings are yours, and you are responsible for protecting them. So it’s so important that you do not say “yes” immediately and you do not take on commitments that interfere with your callings.

3. Schedule time yearly to review your callings

The third way to make sure you’re pursuing your calling: schedule time yearly to review your callings and see if God has changed your situation. You can also do this after major transitions. Maybe you get a new job or you move. Those are great times and to sit down and ask God, “OK, these were my callings a year ago or six months ago or two years ago or whatever. Are these still my callings? Are these still my priorities and my focus?

Outro

Alright, I hope that was helpful. I know it might have been a little different than what you were expecting. But I hope this has given you some ideas about God maybe calling you to glorify Him in this season of your life specifically.

If you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to like, subscribe and share with your friends. You can also find more of my content on Instagram @onespiritualjourney. And if you need to get in contact with me, you can send me an email at brigette@brigettehenry.com. All of those links are in the show notes.

Today’s topic was super fun for me and I hope it was helpful for you. I firmly believe that if we do not prioritize our callings, we do ourselves and God a huge disservice. Part of glorifying Him is being intentional with the time we’ve been given. So if today was a little overwhelming, don’t let it stress you out. Take a deep breath, go to a coffee shop, and just journal through some of this. Start by making that list and just explore the beautiful and unique way God made you and open yourself up to His direction for your life. Let me pray for you before we leave.

Prayer

God, help this woman to know how beautifully and wonderfully you’ve made her. Help her to understand the callings you’ve placed on her life and show her the amazing ways she is uniquely gifted to glorify you. Bless her heart and her hands as she seeks to serve and glorify You. In your name I pray, Amen!