oooh life!

Discerning God's calling usually involves many attempts and failures. You did not arrive on this planet with your calling pre-clarified and your gifts pre-developed. Before Peter walked on the water he said, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' Jesus said, 'Come.' You are not in charge of water- walking, Jesus is! This isn't some power at your disposal to be used any time you choose, for whatever you please. Before you get out of the boat you better make sure that this is what you have been called to do, and that Jesus is the One doing the calling. God's looking for something more than impulsiveness. Sometimes we make reckless decisions about relationships, finances or work, then rationalise it with a veneer of spiritual language. In most self-help books risk-taking is highly praised. But your risk-taking must be in obedience to God. If you are a 'Type T' (the thrill-seeking personality) you are particularly at risk here. Boredom can make you vulnerable. It can tempt you to solve your problems by making a rash decision that is not in line with God's will. The line between 'thou shalt not be afraid,' and 'thou shalt not be stupid' is one that is easily blurred. Knowing when to get out of the boat and take a risk doesn't just call for courage, it calls for wisdom to ask the right questions, discernment to recognise the Master's voice, and patience to wait until He says 'Come!'


Skilled potters know that as they knead and press clay, it presses back, telling them what it can and cannot become. Amateur potters lack that discernment, as their work product reveals. When you do not honour your raw material, reality becomes your enemy. The word vocation comes from the Latin word voice. Discovering your calling involves very careful listening. If you close your ears and pursue something you are neither called nor equipped to do, you will end up living with a constant anxiety that whispers, 'You are trying to do something God did not tell you to do.' The courage to acknowledge what you are not, brings great freedom; the lack of it imprisons you. Parker Palmer writes: 'You cannot choose your calling, you must let your life speak.' Perhaps you were created to learn, and in learning, to benefit others. If so you will find yourself being drawn to reading, reflecting, writing and teaching. But if you are convinced (or allow others to convince you) that you must be a corporate success for your life to count, you will saw against the grain of your life. 'You must let your life speak.' Philosopher Mortimor Adler speaks of those brilliant minds that have been called to sit at the table of what he calls 'the great conversation of the human race.' Well, guess what? Ninety-nine percent of us will never sit at that table! But we can still hear the 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant..' (Matthew 25:31) that is promised to those who discern God's call, accept it, and give their lives to fulfil it.