Devotions & Reflections for WomenExemplo

No Matter the Circumstance, the Calling Is the Same

Though our nine-to-five jobs change over the years, our calling is always to love God and serve him in whatever position he places us.

A few days after graduating from college -- broke and ready to change the world -- I stumbled upon a dream job. The office was technically a converted garage, and the health insurance was technically nonexistent, but everything else was perfect. I’d be working as a marketing coordinator for a speaker's bureau. While I knew very little about marketing, I loved public speaking. Maybe this wouldn’t be just a job, I thought. Maybe this would be the start of a career.

On my first day, it became apparent that my marketing coordinator title was simply that -- a title. I was doing a boring administrative job that didn’t even require a college degree. This couldn’t be what God wanted for my life, right? Wasn’t I made for something bigger and better?

Over the next two years, I asked myself those questions over and over again. I began asking God to call me somewhere else -- somewhere I could use my education and make a huge impact on my community and world. I have so much more to offer, God.

In Matthew 4:18-22, we read about Jesus calling two sets of brothers to leave their day jobs as fishermen and “fish” for people instead.

In ancient times fishing was an ordinary job commonly held -- the work was hard, and it certainly wasn’t flashy. But Jesus comes to these ordinary men, doing ordinary jobs, and basically says, “I want to use your skills to further my kingdom.”

I spent two years in my “marketing coordinator” position, and while I eventually picked up bits and pieces of actual marketing experience, I learned a lot more about hard work, patience, service and humility. My first job -- and all my subsequent jobs -- haven’t been glamorous, but I’m not sure why I thought they should be. Along the way I’ve learned the difference between my vocation and my calling. As a new college grad, I believed God’s calling on my life meant he’d reveal an exciting career that perfectly suited my talents and gifts. What I came to understand is that my nine-to-five job would likely change over the years, but my calling would always remain the same: to love God and to serve him in whatever position he places me.

Reflect

Are you willing to be used by God in your current vocation?