It seems like this question has been ever present in my mind for many years now. Ever since I came to the realization of what God’s salvation through Christ actually meant, and how it changed me, I have been burdened with the issue of “My will vs. Thy will”. Knowing that even Jesus Christ himself prayed “Thy will be done” as part of his model prayer for all of us, I realize that I need to be praying the same thing daily. But how do we make sense of this? How do we know that what we are doing is God’s will for us? What do we need to look/listen for?
I heard a song lyric many years ago from a song by Brian Sirchio that said, “Where your greatest joy intersects with the needs of the world…go and find that place…and find your calling at the crossroads.” Hmmm. That’s an interesting thought. We all want to find our “calling” in life. I can’t say how many times I’ve sat and wept because I didn’t know what my calling was, or wished I was doing something different. One of the greatest things of our society is that we have the ability to do and become virtually anything we desire. We have the freedom to do so and as long as we put the effort and time forth, we can pretty much achieve anything in our sights. That’s also one of the most dangerous things of our society. With our inherent sinful nature, when we have the liberty and freedom to do anything we want, we always default to wanting more. It is very easy to think we are bigger than what we actually are. Just look at our celebrities and star athletes. So many of them have become so large, that their humanity cannot handle their fame. Just the same for all the rest of us. When we have the freedom to become more, we need to have some perspective and restraint. My point is this…our world needs a little of everything. We cannot all be superstars. We won’t all be rich. There has to be a system of everybody working together, or else it wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, we have taught ourselves that if you don’t become successful, wealthy, and famous, you are somehow lesser than the person next to you who is. Well, that is simply wrong. We are ALL equal in God’s sight. We all have different gifts and abilities, and some will do more in this life than others, but ALL are important to God’s will and His purpose for this life.
So back to figuring out God’s will for you. How do you know? Well, the first step is to humble yourself before God in prayer and ask for Him to grant you discernment. What are your gifts? What do you love to do? What brings you the greatest joy? Next, how can you see that fitting in to serving others? Is there a need that your joy can fill for those around you? Remember, you don’t need to think that you have to do something that will make you wealthy. That’s not true success. I have met some very wealthy people who are very successful, as the world defines it, and they are the most burdened and unhappy people I have ever met. It is true that we all have the ability of becoming successful in this life, but we need to recognize what the word actually means to us. Folks, there can be no greater success than knowing you are using what you have to win others to Christ. That should be the focus of whatever we are doing in this life. All else is fleeting and temporary. Money will one day disappear. Our “stuff” will one day disappear. However, your salvation is eternal and so is the person’s next to you who hasn’t been witnessed to yet. Now is your chance.
I had a mentor say to me once that your career doesn’t always have to be your passion. Some people are blessed to be doing what they are passionate about as a career. That’s awesome! However, some people have a career to allow them to be able to pursue their passion. That’s awesome too! Regardless of the avenue, we need to be sure that we do what we are doing with a servant’s heart. That should be everyone’s “calling”. When we focus on the needs of those around us, God is able to bless our hearts in ways we never thought possible. So, all in all, God’s will for us is to glorify Him in everything that we do. Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, pastor, coach, cashier, secretary, actor, musician, teacher, construction worker, missionary, fireman, business owner, housewife, photographer…or whatever…you need to do it with confidence and a servant’s heart. Find your joy and do it. Serve others and be thankful for each day God has allowed you to do so. One day we will all know how the pieces all fit together. Until then…may God bless your efforts…
