What “Calling” Means and What it Doesn’t

By Krista Breilh

Everyone is called, but not all are chosen. To be chosen, you have to be listening- tuned into your spiritual ear so when the call comes, you can respond.

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 Timothy 1:9)

Can we just think about the idea, before the beginning of time. Before you were born. Before your parents or your parents’ parents were born. Before this world was created, back to the time when all that was—was God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Kinda hard to picture right. Almost impossible to imagine. Sit with that for a second.

Before anything in this world was created, before even time existed, Jesus was thinking about you. In those thoughts, He “called [you] to a holy life—not because of anything [you] have done, but because of His own purpose and grace.” Jesus was thinking about me before the beginning of the world! He has called me to a holy life filled with His purpose and grace … wow, that’s crazy.

And, this is all true. Jesus was thinking about you before the beginning of time and He did call you, but in Matthew 22:14 we come across a verse that makes us think:

“Everyone is called, but few are chosen.“

What does that mean? I thought Jesus called us, all of us. How can we know if we are chosen? Am I one of the chosen ones? Do I get to be part of this purpose and grace Jesus wants to invite me into?

The answer to this question is really up to you.

Are Your Ears Open to Hearing the Call? Do You Want to be Called?

Jesus is calling us, but often times we don’t hear the call because we are distracted with something else or have our ears tuned to hear the world.

“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

The two very first words of this verse are “I heard.” Isaiah was tuned in and listening, so when the Lord asked “whom shall I send,” Isaiah heard and was able to respond. And, he responded with much enthusiasm, “Here I am! Send me.”

To be called by the Lord, we need to be listening an aware of His voice.

We need to be tuned in and attentive because we are all called, but we have to be listening to be guided in that call and given direction.

We need to be actively living out our faith, pouring into our Bible, being in community, creating space for silence, and getting on our knees and praying for the Lord to reveal His goodness and plans.

Show the Lord We are Worthy of His Calling:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Being Called Doesn’t Make You Famous

There is this version of the gospel going around today called the Prosperity Gospel. It believes the more you press into the Lord, and give Him thanks, praise, and adoration, the more blessings He will lavish upon you. This isn’t true, nor should gaining a reward ever be the motivation behind you doing something. When you act, it should be out of a giving heart, expecting nothing in return.

If you are called to be a missionary, you most likely won’t have the most comfortable life.

If you are called to sing, most likely you won’t have a cross country tour.

If you are called to serve, you probably won’t be recognized on the cover of People Magazine as being the humanitarian of the year.

But PLEASE don’t let that stop you from dreaming (I am ALL about dreaming). The result or the endpoint of those dreams cannot be the motivation behind what you do, it has to be for a greater purpose than that.

We need to recognize these callings and dreams from God and do it for Him alone, not for human approval or praise.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

A life lived for Jesus is one of sacrifice, selflessness, and constantly dying to yourself in pursuit of following Jesus more.

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Donald Miller, the author of many incredible books, affirms this idea: “I learned from Joseph (a man who went through a lot by following Jesus) that being called by God, it seems, is about serving God, not getting famous or receiving glory or being rich.”

How am I Called?

Determining this calling is difficult, and many people struggle with finding out what that one thing is their whole life. The best advice I can give you is to have your ears tuned in and directed toward the Lord all the time. I believe He is making calls constantly asking, “whom shall I send” and we just need to be ready to respond when He does, just like Isaiah was when he said, “Here I am! Send me!”

Along your personal journey of discovering what your calling is, Jesus left us with a calling that we are all supposed to live out and that is the Great Commission:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19)

Whether your thing is art, music, math, people, talking through issues, being outside, building something, or supporting someone, we are all called to “go and make disciples.” To be actively looking for people that we can pour into, love, and share the goodness of Christ with. So, when you are in this internal struggle of “what is my calling,” “what is my purpose,” “what am I doing with my life,” make sure you never forget that we are called to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations…” (Isaiah 42:1)

God delights in you. God has chosen you. And, if you are a believer, His Spirit is upon you. Tune your ears to Him. Be attentive and obedient to his promptings, and above all else, live to bring Him glory and praise.

We got this Ladies. We got this!