Calling. We talk about it frequently. It seems so vague and unattainable that it often comes with a burden...
What am I called to do? What's my calling?
We hear these questions often, and we strive to "figure it out." We struggle to discern just exactly what God is calling us to do with our lives. It can be discouraging and confusing.
However, recently the Holy Spirit encouraged me:
I'm not just called. I'm created.
One morning, enjoying some coffee in a small shop on a busy street, I caught myself believing some lies about myself. The enemy of my soul was telling me that I wasn't cut out to do what I'm doing. I wasn't designed for it. I just thought God called me to do it, but really...I heard wrong.
Have you ever heard these lies before?
As I was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the lies, I heard the familiar voice of the Holy Spirit encourage me...Not only are you called to do this, you were created to do this.
See the difference?
We focus on being called, often forgetting that first, we were created. When God was forming us in our mother's womb, He had these purposes in mind. We weren't haphazardly designed. Cells didn't randomly come together, develop, and form a human life.
My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in the secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
Psalm 139:15-16
With His own breath, God perfectly crafted us. And while creating us, He had eternity in mind.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
We are His workmanship. Other Bible translations say that we are His masterpiece.
And did you catch the second part of that verse? God prepared our future for us ahead of time. He knew what was ahead from day one.
And here's where it makes a difference...
There seems to be this pressure with being "called," this unspoken, subconscious idea that we have to prove ourselves in order to be called by God. Well, if I'm a good enough Christian, reading my Bible everyday, and praying every second of everyday...then maybe, just maybe, God will call me to do something with my life.
This couldn't be further from the truth! And even though we don't always realize this underlying belief, it's there. And it affects how we see ourselves, and ultimately how we see God.
But, like Ephesians says, God created us with our calling in mind. We didn't need to prove anything. We didn't have to earn our way to a calling; it was crafted into us. The purposes and plans God has for us, unique to each and every person, were there from day one. Our purpose is intentional.
There's freedom and empowerment in knowing and believing that we weren't simply called to a purpose; we were created on purpose, for a purpose. We bear the image of the One, True God. And in that image, and through the power of Holy Spirit, we have everything we need to walk in the purposes God has created for us, everyday becoming more and more like Jesus.
Be encouraged today, reader. Yes, you are called by God. But even more intimately...you are created by God. You are His masterpiece, wonderfully crafted to live a purposeful and powerful life.
What are you created to do?
From Rachel's blog: Abide&Seek