The Development of a Calling
Advice for Finding Your Calling
Nehemiah 1:1-11
The word “calling” can be intimidating. A calling is different than a job. A calling points us to our purpose. It gets us moving, exhilarates us, gives us purpose. We all need a calling because a calling connects us to something larger than ourselves.
In the first chapter of Nehemiah, we are given a front row seat to watch the development of Nehemiah’s calling.
A Need That Moves You
Nehemiah’s brother came and told him about the situation in Jerusalem. The walls were down and the people were living in distress. (vs. 3) They were in need. Nehemiah was made aware of a need that moved him. Your calling begins with identification of a need that moves you. Let’s be honest, there are lots of needs in the world, but not all needs will move you in the same way. You shouldn’t feel guilty about that!
When I say, “need” a lot of you are probably thinking about a calling in specifically spiritual terms. Counseling, chaplain, pastor. However, your calling doesn’t have to be “spiritual” because all things belong to God and all things can and should be done to the glory of God!
Your calling can come from any need that moves you. Nehemiah was moved by the need to build a wall. The wall around a city served as a protection for the people. Without a wall, a city was just a group of people waiting to be robbed, harassed, or even killed. So the task was of paramount importance, but not very spiritual.
God is concerned about wholeness, so physical, emotional, spiritual needs all matter to God which mean our calling can address ANY need! You may not be designed for what is traditionally considered “spiritual” work, but you are designed by God to meet a need in the world!
For example, did you know that space has a litter problem? Debris from satellites that have been destroyed or burned is floating all over space. Most of the debris is 1cm or smaller, but there is so much of it, there is an estimated 1,900 tons of waste…..in space. If you are like me you have never even thought about trash in space, but it’s a real problem.
This debris is falling back into the earth’s orbit, but not fast enough. This is problematic because if there gets to be too much debris, any space mission would be at risk of hitting the debris and causing issues.
There is a group of researchers that are cleaning up space by sending tiny satellites into space. These tiny satellites send out electrodynamic tethers (think tentacles) that attract and collect the debris. Eventually the weight of the debris gets too heavy and the satellite, along with the debris falls and enters the earth’s atmosphere where it is either burned up or cleaned up.
There are people whose calling is to sweep up space.
If you want to know what your calling is, what need in the world moves you? It might be building a wall or cleaning up space.
Grieve the Reality of that Need
When we see a need that moves us, are you grieved about the reality of the need? Does it make you sad that this need is a reality. Often our passion and calling is found in the very thing that makes us miserable. I heard another preacher say once, “Our misery often leads us to our ministry.” Sometimes you go through a difficult thing, and you had a need that wasn’t met or needed a resource that wasn’t available. The reality of that need grieves you, and can lead to a commitment to meeting that need or providing that resource for others who walk through the same difficulty.
I was an active member of my youth group and I saw my friends struggle with all sorts of things. However, they never felt like they could talk to anyone because of the stigma of sin in the church. To some degree that instilled in me a desire to help lead a church that doesn’t pretend everything is OK. It also led to a commitment that anytime someone comes to me with a struggle, I will never be shame them because of it.
Pray that Need is Met – Through You
In vss. 5-11, Nehemiah prays a beautiful prayer that includes confession, a reminder to God about his covenant to Israel, and petition for him to find favor in the presence of King Artaxerxes. He knows the king is going to have to play a role in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He knows that he has presence before the king because he is the cupbearer. With those two realities he begins to take ownership of the need! That ownership helps him in finding his calling.
Have you ever prayed for something to happen, and then realized God is calling you to do it? There comes a point where you have to take ownership of the need. You have to dare to believe you can do something about it. You have to dare to see that you have been positioned to make a difference.
You can’t really know how crazy this rebuilding project is unless you know the background. In 587 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian army and all its inhabitants taken into exile to Babylon. By Nehemiah’s time, this news is about 70 yrs. old. So this isn’t why Nehemiah’s upset. He is upset because the rebuilding efforts had already started and were ended by King Artaxerxes, the same king to which he was the cupbearer. Look at these two passages from Ezra:
Ezra 4:12 (NIV), “The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.”
Ezra 4:23 (NIV), “As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rheum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.”
All the repair work that had been done was destroyed! Here is Nehemiah seeing the need, grieving the need, feeling responsibility to take action on the need, and in a position where he will have to ask the same king that halted the rebuilding for permission to resume rebuilding!
Sometimes, our calling seems impossible by human standards. Sometimes there are barriers in the way. It’s a good thing God is in the business of doing the impossible! When God gives you a calling, you don’t ask about the logical reality of it, you respond in obedience and give your life to it. The nature of the calling doesn’t matter!
Do it to the glory of God, and do it with passion. Being passionate about something reflects the image of God who is alive and passionate, and exhilarating!
A personal friend of mine has started a non-profit called the Restoration Project.
The Restoration Project is on a mission to end fatherlessness. That’s right; end fatherlessness. My friend saw a need, grieved the reality of the need, saw the enormity of the need, but has responded by doing what he can to meet the need. Logic would say he needs to be more realistic. He needs to add a qualifier to his mission like, “…in northern colorado” or “…in Christian homes.” But the need isn’t just in Christian homes or northern colorado. The need is everywhere. Since finding his calling, he gets out of bed everyday with a mission to end fatherlessness. Finding your calling can help you have that same sense of purpose.
My prayer is that you would be a person of passionate calling. What need in the world moves you? How is God calling you to help address that need? What can you do today to start?
For more about finding your calling, click on the resources below from Emmaus Road, a church in Fort Collins.
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Prayer:
Jesus, Divine Caller of vocations,
You invite some to chosen professions,
Others to distinctive spiritual work!
Your call may reflect one’s ambitions,
Or may be a command to a special calling.
Inspire me to always know within my heart,
What particular type of work is fitting
To do Your will at that particular time.
Your many callings vary immensely.
They are all reflections of Your holiness.
Help us to discover our unique calling and
Respond in obedience to You.
(Adapted from www.catholic.org, A Prayer for One’s Calling)