Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
(Jeremiah 1:4-5 - ESV)

Do you know your calling into the Lord? Do you know what God desires from you other than just living from day to day? Sad to say, but many professing Christians have never tapped into their true calling. Yet each believer has one.

What exactly is a “calling?” Reading from Jeremiah 1:4, we can see that a calling involves God giving you a role that he wants you to carry out in this life. Within this role are a series of things God wants to accomplish through you.

Like God did with Jeremiah, He will directly reveal to you what He desires you to do. You will also know what your calling is because you will have a God-given desire to carry it out. You won’t need somebody else’s opinion or need to conjure it up. It is God who will move within you to live out your calling.

Due to their hierarchal system, many of the institutional churches aren’t equipped to help guide, nurture and support the callings of its attendees. So how can you guarantee that you know and can carry out your calling? By making sure that you follow Jesus Christ and not man or man’s gimmicks. Don’t rely on others to seek Christ for you, seek Christ for yourself.

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
(Acts 9:3-6 - ESV)

God knows your calling and being that He knows all things, should we not seek Him out if we want to know what He desires from us? How many programs will we go through, how many “prophets” will we entertain, how many books will we read and how complicated will we make it before we realize the simplicity of just falling on our knees before the Lord in prayer? Paul (then Saul) simply made himself available to the Lord by stopping in his tracks and being open to hear from Jesus. Are you opening yourself to Jesus in the same way?

Making yourself available to Christ allows you to be able to start a dialogue with the Lord. Did you notice that in Acts 9 that Jesus and Paul were communicating with each other? Well the Lord will also communicate with you when you make yourself available to do so. Eventually, He will tell  you to do something in order to get things rolling.

This brings us to the importance of obedience. If you seek to live out your calling but you aren’t following Christ, you will not succeed. Understand that your calling will require you to draw closer to Jesus than you ever have and to be aligned with Him in obedience. If you are presently sinning, repent of your sins like Paul did on the road to Damascus. If you are going to operate in God’s calling, then you must have your Christian walk in order so you aren’t a liability to God’s purposes.

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
(Jeremiah 1:6-10 - ESV)

Don’t forget it will take faith to live out your calling. God purposely has given each of His believers a unique calling that can only be accomplished through continuous faith in Him. Our callings are not something that we can do ourselves. Jeremiah certainly recognized this and knew that in and of himself, he could never be a prophet to the nations. Your faith in the Lord will be what will carry you through. And as a result of living out your calling, you will grow closer to the Lord, grow and mature in your faith and continue pressing forward on your walk.

God will give us everything we need to accomplish His desires. Many times way may think we aren’t prepared enough or we don’t have the aptitude to carry out what the Lord desires, but we must remember that it is God who supplies the ability for us to carry out His will. His Spirit will be at work within you as you minister. Take comfort in the fact that all God wants is a vessel to use, not another potter to help him mold clay. Allow the Lord to work within you and for you. And remember, the calling is for His purpose, not yours.

Now just as Jeremiah was initially afraid, perhaps some of you aren’t living out your calling today due to fear. Are you afraid of what may happen as a result of serving the Lord? If you are crippled by fear, pray that the Lord will work within you boldness and courage. Allowing fear to have its way in our lives will not only cripple our calling but also our very walk. While there is no telling what kind of backlash we may receive as a result of following Jesus Christ, one thing is for sure. The Lord will be with us. Because we serve the Almighty God, even if we die, He will lead us through the same resurrection Jesus went through. So do not worry and do not fear, for the Lord is with you every step of the way. Jeremiah believed this and that is why went went forth and did whatever God commanded him.

Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again,” Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
(1 Samuel 3:4-10 - ESV)

Samuel put himself in position to hear from the Lord. The result was he lived out his calling. Jeremiah and Paul did the same. Are we likewise ready to answer and live out God’s call?