There was a time in my life when I spent several years agonizing and tormented about my "calling". In the Christian world, a calling is a ministry or job you feel that God is wanting you to do with your life. I will tell you that I pursued this pretty heavily with much frustration. I was in a situation where it seemed everyone expected me to have some sort of ministry. I tried many things but nothing really fit. I honestly felt like a failure. What was wrong with me? Why didn't God just simply show me what He wanted me to do? I know there were some who assumed I would be called to preach since both my father and grandfather had been preachers. I can tell you that I learned that being a preacher was NOT my calling. I tried it. I studied, prayed and delivered a sermon but it just didn't fit me. It didn't flow and I just never found that to be my thing.
Along the way, I tried many other ministries in my quest to find what I was supposed to do. At the time, I was led to believe that whatever you were called to do would be it for life. This is simply not true. There are some things that are meant for your life's work for God but many things are just intended for a season in your life. I know at one time I was a youth minister but obviously at 58 years old today I know that I would not have been in that area today.
During those years of searching I tried many things to find my place in ministry. In addition to youth ministry, I tried prayer ministry, men’s ministry, Sunday School teacher, Bible Study teacher, speaker and media ministry. I’m sure there were more but those were the ones I can remember.
I struggled greatly trying to figure out what my calling was. The church can sometimes load you up with some unrealistic expectations on ministry. There are some that have become preachers but I can tell you that there is a whole lot more that goes into being a preacher than just standing behind a pulpit to deliver a sermon.
So did I ever find my calling? Yes, I did. You won't be impressed by it and you probably won't think much of it but the calling I have is just to be the best me I can be. That's it. No supernatural spiritual revelation there. I think that instead of getting all caught up in the pressure of finding some sort of ministry title, God really needs people who are good people and just do what they do. When we expect that God has some ministry out "there" for us, we fail to see that our ministry is the people around us. They are people who are in vocations that maybe aren't spiritual in nature. Teachers, nurses, mothers, fathers and other titles we have which are a ministry to others. You don't have to be a missionary in the jungles of some Central American country.
When I retired from the job I had for over 30 years, it wasn't in the church and it wasn't some fancy ministry outreach but I knew that I was meant to do that job during that season.
Take it from me, don't get frustrated by thinking you are a failure because you haven't been called into some dynamic ministry. Just do what you know to do where you are now and you will find your place in the world. Sure, sometimes you have to try a few things and fail so you can get to where you need to be. God doesn't always speak to people through a burning bush to tell you specifically what to do. Just be a good citizen and someone that thinks about others. In everything we do we should do it as if we are doing it for God. You don't have to quote Bible verses to people in order to be a sermon to someone. Being a good person and a good friend is sometimes the best ministry we can have.
God puts us in different places at different times in our lives. There doesn’t need to be title attached to it. It’s funny today when I see people that I grew up with in the church who are now referred to as “Dr. (Insert last name here)” when they are still just Joe to me. We get too hung up on titles. We just need to be the best we can be where we are. God doesn’t stress about things so don’t stress about your calling.
