Are You Waiting for Your Calling?

Since my last post “Opportunity Does Not Equal Calling” I’ve had a number of conversations with people who’ve grown weary of waiting for their calling.

So I’ve thought it would be good to explore what it means to wait for one’s calling.

In my previous post I stated that “calling comes to all people”. But if this is true then why are so many waiting for theirs?

I think it’s because we look at calling too narrowly. We typically think of it just in terms of vocation.

But there are other callings which, frankly, are higher and more important than our vocational calling.

The highest calling is to trust Jesus Christ with our lives and to follow Him. We’ve all been given this call so the good news (no pun intended) there’s no waiting.

The next call’s to each other, to “love one another” beginning with our family, friends and neighbors both near and far. Because many of these people are present in our lives we’re blessed to be called now.

The third call is to be good stewards of all we’ve been given. There is no waiting to receive this call either; for example if you are breathing (which means you’ve been given the gift of life) you’re officially called to be a steward.

Finally there’s this frustrating vocational calling. Vocation is the work we do, the part we play in the world.

Now it’s here that we often feel we’re waiting because we sense our work isn’t what it should or could be. So why do we wait for this calling? I’ve a couple of theories which given me perspective while I’ve waited.

First a vocation requires training and preparation. Maybe what we’re doing now is part of our preparation?

Second we tend to glamorize vocational calling, thinking it’s the highest calling. But the truth it’s really less important than the other ones. So maybe we have work to do in those first three callings?

So if you are waiting for your vocational calling remember you are already called in the highest ways. Be at peace and when you least expect it this final calling will come at precisely the right moment.