What is God calling you to do? Are you doing it? A recurring theme for most Christians is trying to figure out God’s will for their lives. We’ve talked about this before (see “Explaining God’s Will for Your Life” and “Walking in God’s Will”) and yet we never seem to get it straight in our head. God’s will is easy to find. The Lord has put it in plain sight for you to find, right in the pages of Scripture (Micah 6:8).
Sometimes I think we like to pretend it’s a mystery so we don’t have to feel obligated to carry out the work He gives us to do (James 1:22). What God is calling you to do is no doubt far less glamorous than you would prefer or imagine (Luke 9:23). But this isn’t about you, is it (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)?
What is God calling you to do? He is calling you to love Him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27). This should be easy. After all, Jesus put aside His glory to live as a human (Philippians 2:5–8), submitted Himself to torture and even death on a cross (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27:26–31), and made a way for us to escape the penalty of sin and live with Him forever (Romans 6:23; John 3:16). If that isn’t enough for you to love Him with everything you have, then nothing ever will be enough and you aren’t worthy of Christ. He gave everything for you, and He demands nothing less in return (Luke 14:26–27; Romans 12:1).
The Lord is calling you to obey all His commands (John 14:15). Because we surrender our life to Jesus, it is no longer ours to direct (Galatians 2:19-20). We don’t get to do whatever makes us happy or brings us pleasure when those things violate the standards of God (Galatians 5:16–17; 1 Peter 4:1-2). Instead, our life is to be marked by doing whatever He tells us to do, whenever He tells us to do it. We must read the Bible, learn the Bible, and do what the Bible says. It is the very Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16–17), and His will for us is to obey it so that we will think, speak, and act just like Him (1 John 2:3-6; Ephesians 5:1).
God is calling you to be holy (1 Peter 1:15–16). This sounds impossible on the surface, but nothing is impossible through the power of Christ (Philippians 4:13; Luke 1:37). In our humanity, we have no chance to be holy (Romans 3:10). But once the blood of Jesus cleanses us, His holiness covers all our unholiness (1 John 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Since we are holy in His sight, don’t you think we should act that way before the eyes of the world? Abstain from all impurity, sexual immorality, and idolatry (1 Thessalonians 4:3–7; 1 Corinthians 10:14). Be holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
Jesus is calling you to be separate from the world, part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9; 2 Corinthians 6:17). The worst thing anyone could ever say of us is that no one knew we were a Christian (Matthew 5:16). If Christ is in us, we should look different from everyone else (Philippians 2:14-15). We are His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), called to be light in the darkness (Matthew 5:14; Ephesians 5:8). This isn’t just what He is calling you to do, it is who you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
What is God calling you to do? If you don’t know, do you ever think about it? If you know, are you doing it? God’s Word is clear (Psalm 119:105) and so is your calling (Ephesians 4:1). It may not be what you thought or even what you hoped, but it is the will of God. He is calling you to surrender (Luke 9:23), obey (John 14:21), be holy (1 Peter 1:15), be separate (Romans 12:2), and to love Him and nothing else (Matthew 22:37). Now you know. You no longer have any excuses (James 4:17). Will you do what God is calling you to do? He is watching (Proverbs 15:3), and He is waiting (2 Peter 3:9).