Some of us spend an incredible amount of time discerning how God might be beckoning us to something specific and divine. Searching for my call has certainly been a huge component of my life the last few years as I contemplated and then committed to life as missionary.

I ask God why I am here and how I can bring the will of God to my work.

I have had many conversations with people who ask how I know God called me to this particular path - people who are not sure God has ever placed a call on their lives. I cannot say definitively how I knew this is what I was meant to be doing - I just knew. And on my tougher days I cannot grasp why God has brought me to this work. More often than not, I ask God why I am here and how I can bring the will of God to my work – work that is not necessarily traditional missionary work.

I think most of us, myself especially, fail to recognize how God has called us. We search for answers, and pray for reasoning, all while looking for the grand things that God wants from us. It is easy to inadvertently go to God asking for an endorsement for our own desires, rather than taking a look at how we have already been called. We get frustrated with God and impatient with the discernment process. I know I did. There have been times when I have been almost accusatory in my prayers, telling God I would commit to the plan if only I knew what it was [stated in a leading way and suggesting that God was not being a team player].

It is easy to inadvertently go to God asking for an endorsement for our own desires, rather than taking a look at how we have already been called.

Truth be told, God has been pretty blatant in calling each of us. We need only to look to scripture to discern God’s will for our lives.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. – Luke 6:31

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I find myself saying, “But God… These are the basics! I can do more than this!” And I hear God reply, “If these are the basics, why aren’t you doing them?” I appreciate when God gives me sass while calling me out.

God is calling us. All of us. Perhaps we are not being called in the ways we anticipate or even desire, but we are called nonetheless.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways is God calling you to be more like Christ?
2. How might you commit to fulfilling the will of God this week?