Embracing the Fullness of Your Calling in ChristSample

More Than Works: The Hope Of Your Calling

“The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.” Ephesians 1:17-18 (EVS)

When most people think of their calling, they think of the work God called them to do, their assignment, and what He wants them to accomplish while here on earth. God calls us to accomplish His purposes on earth, but His call includes more than our work.

The word "call" in the New Testament is most often translated as an invitation. God invites us to come into His predetermined purposes for our lives, to have a relationship with Him through His Son, to become who He called us to be, to do the works He created us to do, and to live the life He planned for us.

The first mention of the word called is found in the book of Genesis, Chapter One. God divided the light from darkness and called the light Day. The Hebrew word "qârâ'" means to command, call out, bid forth, invite, give a name and a purpose. The word calling found in Ephesians 1:18, where Paul prays that we might know the hope of God’s calling, has the same meaning as in Genesis.

God calls us the same way He called creation into purpose out of darkness and confusion, saw that it was good, and gave everything he created a name and a purpose.

When we say yes to God's call, He commands the scattering of our souls to come back together again. He sets His purpose and plan for our lives, written in His book before we were born, in motion. He blesses, gives us a new identity, name, and inheritance, and equips us with gifts to fulfill our purpose. Then He works it out as we submit to Him, not all at once, but over time, season by season.

Paul, explaining to believers all that God has done for us in Christ, concluded that only God, through His Holy Spirit, could make us know experientially all that had been wrought in Christ’s sacrifice. So, he prayed that God would do what his words alone could never do — grant us wisdom, revelation, spiritual insight, and understanding to know by experience the intention for which God called us.

When I became a Christian over two decades ago, Paul’s prayer became mine. I prayed until His words began to become my reality. I still pray the same prayer to this day. If you start to pray Paul’s prayer, I’m confident God will grant your request, not all at once but over time.

Prayer: Lord, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know You. Open the eyes of my heart so that I may come to know and understand the fullness of my calling in Christ.