The Calling: How to Discover Your God-Given PurposeSample

Your Assignment

Your calling consists of your identity (who you are), your purpose (what you’re made to do), and your assignment (how you do it). On Day 2 of this Plan, we learned that finding your calling starts with knowing who God is and trusting who He says you are.

• God is the Father and we are His children.
• God is the Son and we are His followers.
• God is the Spirit and we are His dwellingplace.

Yesterday, we discovered our purpose is to love God with your whole self and love your neighbor as yourself. Today, we’re going to explore four big questions to help us determine the best assignment for us in this chapter of our lives.

Question 1: What are your spiritual gifts?

When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside of us. He fills you and gives you the strength to do things you couldn’t do before. He empowers you to live a life worthy of your calling, and He gives you gifts by His grace to accomplish your purpose.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. Ephesians 4:7 NLT

Whatever gifts you have, know that God gave them to you purposefully, according to His generosity, so that you could serve others and glorify Jesus. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT

This is not an exhaustive list of every spiritual gift, but it draws our attention to the reason for these gifts. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to each of us so we can help each other. So wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we can serve others and glorify Jesus.

Go back and read through that list, slowly. Then, check out the passages from Romans and 1 Peter below. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how He has gifted you. God gives us spiritual gifts because He wants us to have them and use them to love Him and love others. He’s not hiding them from you. He’s working in you to bring them to the surface to help you fulfill your purpose.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:6-8 NLT

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 1 Peter 4:10–11 NLT

Take a moment to pray, asking God what gifts He has given you to fulfill your purpose.

Question 2: What brings you joy?

What makes you feel most alive? What’s the thing that, when you’re doing it, you’re at your best, and when you aren’t doing it, you wish you were? Maybe it’s helping a friend through a hard situation. Maybe it’s giving a presentation about something that really matters to you. Maybe it’s caring for someone when they’re injured and helping them through the recovery process. Maybe it’s teaching your younger siblings a new skill. There are some things that will just light you up on the inside. Pay attention to those things because they are often indicators that point us in the direction of our assignment.

Question 3: What breaks your heart?

Think of the things that every time you see them, you feel like you’ve gotten punched in the gut. Maybe a righteous anger is stirred up. You think, “This is wrong. It shouldn’t be this way.” Things like divorce, loneliness, bullying, gossip, poverty, suicide, and people not knowing Jesus. When those thoughts and feelings are stirred up, don’t run away. Lean in. Because the more you become like Jesus, the more the things that break His heart will break yours. Our hearts are supposed to break over evil, injustice, and suffering. And that broken heart is meant to lead to compassionate action. In fact, the things that most break your heart are very often the things God is calling you to go and do something about.

Question 4: What does the world need?

God’s assignment for you won’t be a waste of time, and it won’t be disconnected from His good plans to rescue people from sin and restore the world. When you walk into your school, or your house, or around your neighborhood, what if you started asking the question, “What would it take for this place to look a little more like heaven?” And then, what if you partnered with Jesus to make it happen? Maybe the kids in your school need some hope. Maybe everyone walks around thinking, “Everything sucks and that’s just how it is.” What if you had a different attitude? What if you encouraged people any chance you got and shared the hope you have because of Jesus?

If you want to figure out the best assignment for this chapter of your life, then pay attention to where your gifts, passions, pains, and the needs of people align. Tomorrow, we’re going to bring it all together and take a step in walking out our calling. For now, let’s pray.

Pray: Lord, I want to honor You with all that I do. Teach me how to love You with all that I am, and give me the faith to follow through. Show me how to love others the same way You have loved me. When I fall short or get off track, gently bring me back to You and put me on the right track. I need Your help in all of this. In Jesus’ name, amen.