Is God calling you?
I’ve heard a lot of people saying they ‘feel as though God’s calling them’ in a certain direction in their life.
So, how can I ‘hear’ from God about big life decisions, like whether to go to bible college or change careers?
What does it mean to be called?
The language of calling to specific roles or directions is not something we find in the Bible. What we do find is a calling to godliness:
“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
God calls you to live a life that brings glory to God. Because we believe that God is in complete control over this world, we know there is nothing we can do to disrupt his plans for salvation in this world.
So what about making big decisions?
Well, in some respects it doesn’t matter. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul. In everything you do, bring glory to God. So make decisions that honour God. If both your choices bring glory to God, then choose the one you like best. Because God will use you no matter what. We are free to choose.
Because God has freed us to choose, we should be careful when it comes to “listening” for God’s call. He doesn’t promise us he will speak to us and direct us in this way. What he has promised is that if we listen to his Word, the Bible, we will know how to be one of his people and how to live like one of his people. As long as we follow this direction, we are free to live and make decisions as we choose.