January 20th, 2025
By: Kara Wallis
I recently listened to a very challenging podcast that was talking about how, as Christians, we can not become so consumed with the calling in our lives that we forsake our time with the Caller. I think as Christians we have overused the term “calling” or use it wrongly. As Christians we all have the calling to love God and love others. Work as a calling looks like something specific and in the podcast teaching the speaker gave four things that this requires.
The first one is that it is meaningful. It is less about what the specific job is and more about how we use numbers two and three, which are our skills and passions. It is all about perspective and it is important to see that where we are has opportunity and that meaningfulness can be in any job or calling. In 2 Peter 1:5-8 it says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The fourth thing she says is that it is pro-social, meaning it is about people and if we are not making a positive impact on other people it is nothing more than a hobby. We cannot forget that calling is about loving God and others.
When we feel a calling we are more motivated, satisfied, and able to withstand change better, but the next thing she said blew my mind. We can be the most prone to burnout. Burnout from a calling is different from regular burnout. What is the difference between someone crossing the finish line and someone not? When we can get so absorbed with trying to figure out our calling that it is the only thing that occupies our mind and the calling defines who we are rather than the relationship with God, the Caller, we get into trouble. Our calling is all about relationships with the Caller, ourselves, and others. If we are not careful we can idolize our job and become addicted to work. Burnout from a calling is not just being tired, it comes with the feeling of not knowing who we are anymore. She says a huge thing to combat this is humility.
Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” We have to remember that God is God and we are not. We have to remember where God has brought us from and none of us can fulfill our calling within our own strength. The supernatural component is that we will always need God to walk with us, we will never be good enough to do it on our own. Humility can appear to be abstract and unattainable, but it is knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, while not being distracted by either one. We have to be self-aware and the perfect example of this is Jesus, He walked in humility and knew who He was. Humility recognizes we will never know everything, so learning and delegating is important. We have to step away and learn to sabbath so we can be properly recharged. Sabbath is a relational act with Jesus and to be with Him in a tithing of our time. The people that have a healthy calling do not necessarily work less, but know when they need to take a little break. The only way we fully understand what true humility is, is by following Jesus. Not the way that culture says it is or how it can be stereotyped, but the way our Savior shows us. This is a key thing in longevity and being sustained in our God-given callings. We need to be activating the body of Christ to do what God has called us to do. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”
I recently listened to a very challenging podcast that was talking about how, as Christians, we can not become so consumed with the calling in our lives that we forsake our time with the Caller. I think as Christians we have overused the term “calling” or use it wrongly. As Christians we all have the calling to love God and love others. Work as a calling looks like something specific and in the podcast teaching the speaker gave four things that this requires.
The first one is that it is meaningful. It is less about what the specific job is and more about how we use numbers two and three, which are our skills and passions. It is all about perspective and it is important to see that where we are has opportunity and that meaningfulness can be in any job or calling. In 2 Peter 1:5-8 it says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The fourth thing she says is that it is pro-social, meaning it is about people and if we are not making a positive impact on other people it is nothing more than a hobby. We cannot forget that calling is about loving God and others.
When we feel a calling we are more motivated, satisfied, and able to withstand change better, but the next thing she said blew my mind. We can be the most prone to burnout. Burnout from a calling is different from regular burnout. What is the difference between someone crossing the finish line and someone not? When we can get so absorbed with trying to figure out our calling that it is the only thing that occupies our mind and the calling defines who we are rather than the relationship with God, the Caller, we get into trouble. Our calling is all about relationships with the Caller, ourselves, and others. If we are not careful we can idolize our job and become addicted to work. Burnout from a calling is not just being tired, it comes with the feeling of not knowing who we are anymore. She says a huge thing to combat this is humility.
Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” We have to remember that God is God and we are not. We have to remember where God has brought us from and none of us can fulfill our calling within our own strength. The supernatural component is that we will always need God to walk with us, we will never be good enough to do it on our own. Humility can appear to be abstract and unattainable, but it is knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, while not being distracted by either one. We have to be self-aware and the perfect example of this is Jesus, He walked in humility and knew who He was. Humility recognizes we will never know everything, so learning and delegating is important. We have to step away and learn to sabbath so we can be properly recharged. Sabbath is a relational act with Jesus and to be with Him in a tithing of our time. The people that have a healthy calling do not necessarily work less, but know when they need to take a little break. The only way we fully understand what true humility is, is by following Jesus. Not the way that culture says it is or how it can be stereotyped, but the way our Savior shows us. This is a key thing in longevity and being sustained in our God-given callings. We need to be activating the body of Christ to do what God has called us to do. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”
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