I took a full-time job recently. Now that is something that should be considered a normal step for someone who is twenty-four and living on their own. However, it seems in a time of influencers, fashion bloggers, and people who will not settle for anything less than their “dream job” it does not feel typical. The job is not something that is related to what I am passionate about. The job is not even something I have have a degree in. The job is not something I want to do forever. But – it is a job. A job that will give me financial means, health benefits, experience, and the opportunity to learn.
On paper, I will admit, it does not make much sense. Or so I told myself that at least. I am afraid that a thinking has been engraved into the minds of my generation and the one younger than me that if it does not check all the boxes, we must say no. If it does not align with the gifting’s that we know the Lord has granted us, we must say no. If it does sound like something we would like, we say must say no. I wrestled with the decision for a while. Surely, the Lord did not want me to do something that was unrelated to the dreams He has put in my heart. However, I also knew that the Lord was not asking me to do nothing. He does not ask us to sit back and wait for all the pieces to align and a job be delivered to us. He does not ask me to disregard the concept of work all because “it is not a good fit.” My only reason for saying no to this job would have been because it was not necessarily something I was interested in.
Here is where all the older people roll their eyes at us young folks. Here is where my fellow young people nod their heads because you know you have been there. Whether it was taking a job and only staying at it for a short term because you wanted to move on to something new or whether it was simply saying no to a job offer because you wanted something better. Our concept of work has become so skewed and I believe the enemy is using a spiritual idea against us in it.
There was a sense of shame that rose up in me as I emailed back and accepted the job. What would people think of me taking something that was not within the realm of all the things the Lord has gifted me with? What would people say to me when they found out that I was going to spend the next year doing something that was outside the context of anything related to what I was passionate about? Would they think that I was denying the calling I know the Lord has put on my life?
How is it that this train of thoughts even dared to come into existence? It is the idea of glorified callings. The enemy has taken something beautiful that is ordained by the Lord and put an excessive emphasis on it and twisted it into a weapon against us. It is keeping us from taking the basic next right step. It is keeping us from seeing what is right in front of us and instead we comparing our worlds to the life of social media. It is keeping us from having ministry-minded people in the corporate workplace because we have come to believe that if we are followers of Jesus, then we are called to ministry, and if we are called to ministry we need to work for the megachurch, write a book, have a stage, and grow our following. It is keeping us from the process because we are living for the instantaneous destination instead of the collection of steps of faith that produce in us character along the way.
I am not saying that I do not believe in the power of calling or in the idea of spiritual gifts. What I am saying is that I believe the enemy is keeping a lot of us on the sidelines. He watches the clock, wondering how long he can keep us from being active. If he can keep us thinking that our only yes is to that which “makes sense” then he can minimize productivity. He loves that so many of us are sitting around waiting for “the thing.” The story of Jesus does not make sense. The radical grace He offers does not make sense. Every thing He did during His time on earth did not make sense. Faith calls us to do the very things that do not make sense.
Callings are revelations from heaven but we can stop over complicating them. The calling never changes, the context in which you walk it out can. The fivefold ministry the Paul lays out for us in Ephesians 4, these things can be done anywhere and anytime. Think about this way – do you feel called to teach? My friend, that does not have to mean from a stage at a church. It could mean as a high school volleyball coach. It could be as a teacher at a school. The fivefold ministry is not only allowed to be executed within the walls of a church building. What if instead of saying “that does not align with what I am gifted or called to,” we asked, “God how can I use the gifting’s you have given me and walk out in them right where I am?” I believe that if we postured ourselves in a place of willingness, that as the people of God, we would be way more effective than we could imagine. We must stop letting the enemy keep us waiting to engage by blinding us with positions. Seek vision, not position. By doing so you are opening yourself up to unimaginable wisdom that can be granted, leading to effectiveness for the sake of Jesus’ name wherever you might be.
I know the things the Lord has put in my heart. I also know that they are not irrelevant anymore just because I took a job doing something else. I have come to see that what I thought would be considering me failing as a follower of Jesus was actually a declaration of faith. I said yes because I trusted Him enough to believe that the dreams He has put in my heart will not be forgotten. I trusted Him enough to believe that He knows me. He knows my desires. He knows what He has created me to do. As the giver of the gifts, and caller of the callings, it is not lost on Him. I can trust Him enough to know that where I might be right now will not be forever. I can trust Him enough to know that His plan will always come to be. I said yes because I did not want my desire to do a certain “thing” overpower my desire for Jesus alone. He is everywhere. To seek Him, know Him, love Him, and make Him known, I can do that anywhere. What a missed opportunity to discover more of who He is by sitting around and waiting for “what makes sense.”
Do I still have some doubts and even fears going into this new season? Of course. Is it still hard to watch the people around me getting to do what they love to do already? Of course.
Yet, I have to remember – I am still on heavens radar. My Father in heaven knows exactly where I am.
He found Paul.
He found Mary.
He found Matthew.
He found Peter.
The list could go on and on. He found them and He led them on to new things. But do not miss it – He found them but they were all doing something else when He found them. I am findable. You are findable. I do not want to be the person that God comes and finds and has to ask, “why were you doing nothing.”
We have far too many people wanting a role or a title. We need less of that. We need more surrendered followers of Jesus who are fully aware that wherever they might be, there is a chance for us to know Him in a deeper way and make Him known.
I am speaking to myself here, with all of it. The battle of my flesh and my spirit rages on. I must crucify daily the desire to be somewhere else, submit to the ground beneath my feet, and ask Him to lead me into what He wants from me in the here and now.
Callings are not future tense. Callings are now. You walk out in a calling. You do not walk to a calling. That means a calling cannot be a place, a title, a job, a certain role, or a status. No, my friends, you walk out in your calling, you do not walk to your calling.
I pray we do better. For the sake of ourselves and for the sake of those coming behind us. May we always be people who call out the gifting’s we see in other people but may we also be people who remind them that they are not limited in utilizing them. May we be people who champion those around us in what they are doing right now and reminding that at the end of it all Jesus is the goal. May we be people who do not neglect to seek Godly wisdom in our decision making when it comes to careers and next steps, but may we also not be people who are only willing to step for certain things.
A life of ministry is way more than just finding my way into a job at a church. A life of ministry is a deep belief that God knows what He is doing and where He is taking me. It is open eyes and awareness of how to weave the gospel in wherever we are.
Lord, help us to do better. Get us off the sidelines. Open the doors and let us have enough faith to walk through the ones that do not make sense.
He knows what He is doing. He knows how all the dots connect. It might not make sense to us but it all makes sense to Him. Trust Him.
Still learning,
Adria
P.S. I am starting as a project administrator on the restaurant and development team at the Chick-fil-A headquarters in a couple weeks.
