Discovering Your Calling, Slowly

Occasionally, I see an interview with a person who stands out in their field who says, “I always knew I wanted to be a ___” Fill in the blank – writer, doctor, musician, entrepreneur, missionary, or whatever. To be honest, I often come away from those interviews feeling a bit envious of their clarity.

Even after 42 years of life and 16 years as as a pastor, I still sometimes wonder what I want to be when I grow up. (Not that I’m seriously considering changing jobs any time soon.)

That’s why Denis Haack’s post Discovering Your Calling, Slowly resonates with me. He writes…

Some people walk through life and discover their calling and gifts as their pilgrimage unfolds. The point is not how fast you uncover such things but whether you are faithful to what you know, to what has been revealed so far. The danger is not missing your calling, but being disobedient, or disdaining your gifts because you’d prefer something else. It’s a good formula for becoming increasingly bitter about life.

Many of us were not created for a singular, highly-focused purpose. We may have several smaller callings.

We may also have a clear calling for a season and then find ourselves meandering through the desert wondering what God has in store for us next. That meandering phase doesn’t necessarily mean we’re lost and certainly doesn’t mean God has abandoned us.

Sometimes God leads us on the long and windy road to exercise and strengthen our faith, to see if we’ll trust Him when the future is unclear, to see if we want Him even more than we want clarity of purpose.

Do you know your calling?  If so, what is it and when did you know it was what you are called to do? If not, what are you doing to discover your calling?