God's Calling On Your Life
“Many, LORD, are asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’
Let the light of
your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with
joy
when their grain
and new wine abound.”— Psalm 4:6–
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein quotes:
What’s it going to take for people to be happy?
We live in a world of smart-phones, the internet, and air-travel
– things that our ancestors could not imagine. We have relative abundance and
conveniences that kings of the past could only dream of. Our grocery stores are
well-stocked and we have indoor plumbing, two things that much of humanity
still lives without.
But, for most people, that’s not enough: “Many, LORD, are
asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’” People want to know, “Who will invent
the next big thing? What will it be? Maybe when we have that, then we will be
happy!”
I love the following quote from actor Jim Carrey. He
said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever
dreamed of … so they can see it’s not the answer.”
Most people answer the question of happiness with an item
or an aspiration: “If only I had a new (fill-in-the-blank) — then I would be
happy.” “If only I achieved success and recognition — then I would be happy.”
This thinking governs so many of the decisions that we make and how we spend
our time, day-in and day-out. But as Jim Carrey says, having experienced living
with both fame and fortune, neither will make us happy. Happiness cannot be
bought or given.
Happiness is a choice, and it comes from choosing God.
Dr. Charles Stanley in his devotion “Our True Identity” from Ephesians 1:3-8 very rightly says :
When I hear a believer announce, “I’m just a sinner,” I feel like saying,
“That’s what you used to be.” A lot of folks cling to a view of themselves as a
patched-up, slightly-better-than-before version of their old self. The Bible
contradicts that opinion: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the
old things passed away, behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). In fact,
according to Scripture, we’re dramatically different once we are complete in
Christ.
The question is whether people will trust in what they
feel or believe what God says about them. His Word calls us saints (Rom. 1:7),
disciples (Matt. 28:19), and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17). If
your opinion is that you are “just a sinner,” then you cannot fully experience
and enjoy your identity in Christ.
Believing what God says about our new self is a choice.
Satan certainly conspires to convince believers that God’s Word doesn’t apply
to them. He knows that people held captive by spiritual poverty back away from
opportunities to share the gospel and serve the Lord’s kingdom. It’s much
easier to spiritually bankrupt someone who already thinks of him- or herself as
“just a sinner” than it is to conquer a disciple who knows God is his loving
Father.
Our true identity is defined not by our past actions but
by the Savior’s. Jesus purchased our lives with His blood and brought us into
relationship with God the Father, who adopted us as beloved children. We have
every reason to hold our heads high, stand firm, and courageously proclaim the
gospel.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
God has something specific for you to do!
Do you see it in the verse? There are “good works which
God prepared beforehand” so that you would walk in them. God has prepared a job
just for you. But don’t let that make you nervous, because He has also prepared
you just for that job!
“We are His workmanship”, it says. That word
“workmanship” implies very meticulous, painstaking, highly skilled labour. God
has meticulously, painstakingly designed your life-experiences with great skill
in order to bring you to a place of readiness for His call on your life.
We readily accept that missionaries have a `call’ from
God. And we want our pastor to feel called to his position. But sometimes when
we are tradespeople or business people or university students or raising
children—then we don’t see ourselves as having a calling.
But actually, every one of us has a calling from God, a
specific way that He wants to use you, something He has designed you for. That
is why every believer is given spiritual gifts. God may call you into a
business setting with people that will never be exposed to organised church.
How can you change the way you view your situation so that you are available
for God’s calling on your life?*
*Jack North, Ambassadors for Christ International
Blessings,
Raj Kosaraju
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