How Do I Know Where God Is Calling Me?

Hey, thanks again for sending in questions to our recent sermons. This summer we have continued our series This is My Story, where we have heard from various of our ministry leaders how God has worked in their lives, in very similar ways to how God worked in the lives of the people that we read about in Scripture.

This last week, we heard from Josh Sun, one of our elders, how God has worked in his life, how God really called him to serve his family, and in particular, his son with autism. Josh very transparently, vulnerably, courageously, inspiringly shared how originally he was in a dark place.

It was very hard to raise a child with these needs, staying at work late to kind of avoid what was happening at home, and then God intervened and showed him, this is my calling for you, is to serve your son. Josh found a deep meaning in that, has given his life in service of those literally closest to him. It’s an inspiring story for all of us to seek God’s calling on our life and to serve in places that may not seem glamorous, but are certainly life-giving, both to us and to others.

And so the question this week is simply, how do I know where God is calling me? Many ways that we can spend our time, many places we can serve, but how do I know I need to go here and not there? Josh shared he felt God was calling him, you serve your son. I don’t need you to go out to the nations as a missionary somewhere else. I have a role for you right here.

So how do we know? And so there’s a couple of key pieces I think that are revealing from Josh’s story. One is our lives are not our own. We were bought at a price from our King. We are his servant. He can do whatever he wants with our lives.

So one, it’s God who is in charge of what we do with our lives, not us. We are his. We belong to him. He chooses our path for us, of what we ought to do.

Second, whatever that path is, it’s not for our glory, to be known and worthy and majestic on our own. Our path is in service of others. That is what we’re called to do. It’s not to increase our own platform, to have many people give us much acclaim. That’s not the plan. The plan is service. Like Christ said, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

If you want to be great in his kingdom, you make yourself less. That’s how you do it. In the Old Testament, true, right? It’s meant to serve orphans and widows. James reinforces that. True religion is this: we give ourselves to others. In Matthew 25, Jesus says, whatever you’ve done for the least of these, you’ve done for me.

Very clear what the plan for our life ought to be, and it is others, right? It’s not ourselves. We are a servant of others, as Christ came to serve, not be served. So we are the same.

And so, regardless of the specifics, we have two big pieces in place. One, God is in charge. Two, our life is for others.

Okay, now three, this is the part that we might be really curious about, is which others? Okay, there’s many others that I can serve, that I can give my life to. Is it kids? Is it seniors? Is it special needs? Is it, do I need to be in public service, in politics? Do I need to be a pastor? Do I need to be a doctor? That serves other people, right? Like what am I supposed to do with my life to serve others? A financial planner, right? You’re serving. Everything can be about others.

All right. So first, if you’re married, if you have a family, that’s your primary service. I was told a long time ago, there’s a lot of people that are called to be a pastor, but there’s only one person called to be a husband to your wife, Dan. That’s you. If you don’t do it, nobody else is going to do it. There’s only one person called to be a father to your children, Dan. If you’re not a father to your children, nobody else is going to do that job.

So wife, kids, or spouse and kids, if you’re a woman, obviously, you might have a husband. Okay. So spouse and kids, number one.

And then outside of that, Josh found God speaking to him through times of prayer, through times of pressure, through times of seeking, through times of asking. And that’s a great path forward. Ask God, how do you want me to serve others? What do you want my life to be about? I know it’s not about me. And I know you’re in charge of it, but you probably have a place for me to go, and I want to go wherever you want me to go.

You can think about the gifts and talents that he’s given you, the abilities, the experiences you’ve had, the education you’ve had, the opportunities you’ve had. If you kind of plot all of those on a graph, they probably have a trajectory in some direction. Follow that trajectory. Serve where God opens a door. Keeping in mind always that my life is not my own. He’s in charge of it, but where he’s going to send me is for others’ benefit. And you will find that place where you are to serve.

Hope that’s helpful. We’ll see you next time.