There is no formula for our “calling.” The Christian community has overdramatized, blown-up, and sometimes glorified it more than God Himself.
We google it, read books about it, talk to friends, soak in every sermon alluding to it, and wonder why others have it figured out while we search in every desperate attempt. I’m guilty of this, and trust me; my toes are practically bleeding as my fingers type these exposing words.
I’ve made it about me. I have to admit that I’ve been more concerned over my calling than I’ve been concerned about God Himself. And there’s a reason: self-glorification.
I’m an Enneagram 3 to the core, and if you know anything about this type, you’re aware that drive, productivity, and desire to win make up a lot of our traits. Such traits can sometimes drive our core fear: failure. Even now, my husband approached me while writing with a question, and I quickly shook my head, rudely communicating that I’m on a mission and prefer not to be interrupted (<pause for an apology…sorry babe>). These traits have served me well, but when I allow myself to take center stage, admirable features become tainted and rear their ugly head.
My calling has been incredibly frustrating in my Christian walk. Drive to have a plan, to succeed with said plan, and execute exceptionally may work for me by worldly standards, but in the spiritual realm? Not so much.
As I said, there is no formula for our calling. I can’t make a list, create an execution plan, or map out where I could go wrong to keep failure at bay. I can confidently say this because I’ve tried. The irony is laughable, because somehow by trying so desperately to avoid failure, I consequently failed because of my fear of failure. Funny, right?
I can pinpoint exactly where I went wrong, and it all goes back to making my calling centered around me, around self-glorification, and gripping my ideas of what my calling is supposed to be, rather than what God wants for me.
On top of my Enneagram 3-ness, I also have a control issue. The need for control derives from years of feeling that something terrible would happen if I didn’t take control because, well, often it did. Working through my love for control has to be surrendered daily, and consequently, so does my need for control of my calling.
It’s not mine. It’s God’s. But you see, somehow, I want to know how I can plan it, make it successful (by worldly standards), and then gather the glory for it. Writing that out hurt so badly, I’m sure my toes are no longer even attached to my body! OUCH.
But if I want to walk in a holy calling with our holy God, I have to admit my desperate need for a holy God, so I can fully understand the weight of what He’s already done for me. That’s right; God has already covered this shortcoming through the cross. He sent his son who died for me, has already forgiven me, loved me anyway, and extended His kind mercy and grace to me.
And ultimately, He has CALLED me to extend this same invitation to others. He even lays it out clearly in Matthew 28:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
How about that? I have made this whole calling and purpose thing such a big deal, I’ve overthought it, and in turn, made a holy, earth-shattering mission about me.
Now do not get me wrong; I have asked God MANY times and even pleaded with Him to tell me what He wanted me to do. I have asked Him to text me or write it in the sky, but He already did, and it is in Matthew 28- also known as The Great Commission.
Let’s break this down:
The prefix “co” means together or with, and the word “mission” means to carry out an important task. So basically, what Matthew 28 is saying is that our calling is to partner WITH (co) Jesus to share (mission) the abundance that comes from knowing Him.
You don’t have to work in a church, be a foreign missionary, or write Christian books. Some take this calling and walk it out with Jesus as teachers in schools and use their gift of mentorship to empower youth. Some do it by answering a phone all day and extending grace and compassion to frustrated customers who need it more than they realize. Some people do write books and preach sermons, and that’s great too! The point is that while our mission and calling are the same, God can and will allow us a personal mission based around the gifts he has already given us. But, because we aren’t trying to make the mission all about us and we are on a CO-mission, He will work in our various gifts to show who He is – and uses us to carry it out. How humbling is that?
At the end of the day, our calling is not for our glory — it’s about HIS glory. If we make it about us, we will fail because our calling alone isn’t enough without the One who gave us the ultimate call. And while God gives us the freedom to share His goodness in various creative ways, we have to remember that as Christians, making it about whatever creative gift we have isn’t what we’ve been called to do. It will look different for us all, in the mystery of God’s goodness, but in the end, our calling is the same – to tell the good news of His unfailing, abundant love! What an honor, what a gift, what a calling!
Teresa Simmons Ross says
Wow! I’m so taken away! This was FOR and ABOUT me! How wonderfully written and the transparency makes it PERFECT!
I don’t even know how this got to me 😳 via email… I’ll take that back – the HOLY SPIRIT continues to work for, with, and through each of us ❤️❤️❤️
Sunnie Cotton says
Teresa, thank you so much for taking a moment to leave this encouraging comment! I haven’t posted on here in a very long time, and something like this means a lot!