how to find your calling

A common question I hear is, "What is your calling?". I know we often think about and wonder if we will ever fulfill or accomplish this calling. I know calling is different than passion. You may live a life fulfilling the things your passionate about but is that a calling? Is walking in your passions really living in your purpose? 

Although I believe our Godly passions play a role in our God-given purpose, passion alone is not a calling. So how do we find our calling? 

I think we need to start with this, your God-given calling is not about you. I know that hurts, but sometimes the truth hurts! We are called by God but not to bring ourselves, Glory. Our calling will always give Him Glory. If you are receiving the Glory, then you are really living for yourself. 

A few things we can do to better understand our calling is to be cleansed by God, stay close to God, and respond to the heart of God. I find all 3 of these things in the book of Isaiah chapter 6. The famous "Here I am! Send ME!" scripture. 

A few interesting things to point out in this chapter: before Isaiah ever heard the heart of God, He had to experience a moment of cleansing. The angel of God approaches Him with coal to cleanse his lips. Once Isaiah is cleansed, he goes from observing Heaven to partnering with Heaven. If we want to respond to the calling from God, we must first allow Him to cleanse us. The Cleansing comes before the calling. 

After Isaiah is cleansed, he hears the call. But Isaiah was never called directly. The scripture doesn't mention His name. Isaiah is close enough to God to listen to the heart of God. When we think about our calling, we want to hear it from prophets. We go to the conferences, the revival services, any place where we might just get a "WORD" about our purpose. I have come to find that I have had the best guidance in my calling in moments of intimate prayer with the Lord. The moments of closeness reveal the most significant direction. I don't need to get a "WORD" I want to be close enough to God to hear His heart so I can respond. 

Once Isaiah heard the heart of God, he immediately responded. He didn't ask for details; He just knew that God was looking for someone to send. We will not know every detail of our calling. We may not see the ending or how it's all going to turn out. In fact, Isaiah was being called to people that were not going to listen to Him. It almost seemed like he was being called to a failed mission. In our calling, success doesn't always look like success. As you follow the will of God, you will begin to realize that it doesn't always feel like things are going right. There will be many times where you will feel like you are failing. However, our most tremendous success is simple obedience. We cannot grade spiritual success on an earthly scale. I don't need others to think I am successful, all that matters is that I am obedient. That I say "Here I am! Send Me" and go where I am sent. 

So if you want to know your calling:

• Let the Lord cleanse you.

• Stay close to hear His heart.

• Respond to the opportunity.