Living for Your Calling
If there is one thing I have learned since college, it is that life goes by fast. It is hard to believe that five years have past since college and nine years since high school. To those who are older, five and nine years out may seem like nothing. For me, since high school and college, a lot has happened. I've been in two car accidents (none of them serious thankfully). I've switched jobs a couple times. I became a brother-in-law. An uncle three times over. I've bought a house. I've had friends who have lost loved ones. I myself have lost family and friends. Just yesterday, I found out my step great grandmother passed away. She was 104 years old. To me, that is hard to even fathom. Yet it all happens in the blink of an eye.
Working with 5th - 8th grade, I learn a lot of the slang they use. A few years ago, I would hear the term "YOLO" all over. "YOLO" stands for "you only live once." Kids would often use this to encourage their peers (or sometimes themselves) to try something new. In some cases, it wasn't a big deal. Other times (maybe more often than not), it was students peer pressuring each other into doing something they really shouldn't do.
A few years ago, when my 6th grade small group was deciding on a name for our group, they decided on the "Neon YOLO Swagsters". The name says it all! I remember when we were discussing the name, having the conversation with our group about the term YOLO. This term has some truth. You really do only live once on earth. Where and how we choose to apply that term is what makes the difference.
Scripture talks all about the shortness of life. David describes life in Psalm 144:4 saying, "They [people] are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow." James describes our lives and time on earth as a vapor. Asaph in Psalm 78 compares our lives to "a passing breeze that does not return."
I find it very easy to get distracted in life and as a result, miss out on what life (God) has to offer. Worries and temptations have their way of distracting us. Technology and social media has made it easy to become self-obsessed and self-absorbed. It has caused us to focus inward, instead of outward. Satan uses this as a tool to attack our identities and our focus.
God calls us to look different than the world. He calls us to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received" (Ephesians 4:1). What is the calling we have received? What would make my life worthy of that calling? Micah 6 says, "He has shown you, O mortals, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." God calls us to do what is right, no matter what. He calls us to offer forgiveness even to our enemies. Finally, he calls us acknowledge the depth of our sin, so we can humbly accept the gift he has offered us and obediently walk in his ways.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to be a leader on the West Virginia trip with our junior high students. We spent time camping, hiking, white water rafting, and hanging out as a big group. During that trip, I decided not to bring my cell phone. That's right, one WHOLE WEEK without a cell phone or internet. At the beginning, it did feel a bit strange. As the week went on, I really learned to appreciate it. I never found myself checking to see if I had a message or even seeing what time it was. When students would ask what time it was, I could honestly tell them, I didn't know. My times of day were morning, after lunch, after dinner, and bed time. I couldn't check facebook to see what everyone else was doing. I was simply living.
During this trip, I learned a little bit about what it meant to be still. I learned what it meant to set aside distractions and let my heart be fully focused on my walk with Christ. During that time, I really saw God work, not only in my, but the other leaders and students' lives as well. Part of me really misses that trip. I miss not having a phone. I miss being in a community where there was always someone to talk to or hangout with, but also an opportunity to step back and be with God. I was on that trip to serve, but through that opportunity, my own faith grew.
When I think about living a life worthy of the calling I have received, I think of that week. My purpose was to serve. My purpose was to daily walk with those around me, encouraging and being encouraged to follow Christ more faithfully than the day before. Seeing this play out, I watched a girl in my group struggle through the overnight hike. Yet I watched others in the group step up and care for her in ways that we are called to.
On the other side, I myself struggled at the beginning of the white water rafting. Yet through prayer and others, God revealed to me the truth of who he is. Through literally every rapid I would pray, "God, nothing can happen outside of your plan. These are your waves Lord." Through every rapid we went through, I put a little more faith in him. By the end, I was able to enjoy white water rafting.
God has shown me how that is true in life as well. As I learn to trust him more with each test he sends me through, I learn to find joy in those moments. Can it still be scary going through the Class 5 rapids of life? Most definitely. God does call me to a peaceful life where nothing hard happens. He calls me to a radical life where Class 5 rapids are all around me. He calls me to stand up for him. He calls me to care of the widow and orphan. He calls me to put my own interests aside for the sake of others. He calls me to trust that he will be with me, when like Peter, the waves are crashing against me. He calls me to live a life fully dependent on him. When I'm going through the tough times, go to him. Like the guide in white water rafting, God will direct me to do what I need to do, right when I need to do it. God doesn't call me to live life on my own.
John Shedd is quoted as saying, "A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are built for." Jesus calls me to serve when it's hard, forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, and follow the seemingly unreasonable commands he gives me.
A life worth living isn't measured by how well you succeeded in business or how great you are at something. A worthy life is defined by how you followed after Jesus. It's defined by how faithful you were during the good times and the hard times. Don't let the fears or distractions of life, keep you from living the life God called you to live.
YOLO. Are you willing to sail out onto uncharted waters for the sake of Christ? What is God calling you to do right now? Who is God calling you to love right now? Who is God calling you to pray for? Who is He calling you to care for?
Working with 5th - 8th grade, I learn a lot of the slang they use. A few years ago, I would hear the term "YOLO" all over. "YOLO" stands for "you only live once." Kids would often use this to encourage their peers (or sometimes themselves) to try something new. In some cases, it wasn't a big deal. Other times (maybe more often than not), it was students peer pressuring each other into doing something they really shouldn't do.
A few years ago, when my 6th grade small group was deciding on a name for our group, they decided on the "Neon YOLO Swagsters". The name says it all! I remember when we were discussing the name, having the conversation with our group about the term YOLO. This term has some truth. You really do only live once on earth. Where and how we choose to apply that term is what makes the difference.
I find it very easy to get distracted in life and as a result, miss out on what life (God) has to offer. Worries and temptations have their way of distracting us. Technology and social media has made it easy to become self-obsessed and self-absorbed. It has caused us to focus inward, instead of outward. Satan uses this as a tool to attack our identities and our focus.
God calls us to look different than the world. He calls us to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received" (Ephesians 4:1). What is the calling we have received? What would make my life worthy of that calling? Micah 6 says, "He has shown you, O mortals, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." God calls us to do what is right, no matter what. He calls us to offer forgiveness even to our enemies. Finally, he calls us acknowledge the depth of our sin, so we can humbly accept the gift he has offered us and obediently walk in his ways.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to be a leader on the West Virginia trip with our junior high students. We spent time camping, hiking, white water rafting, and hanging out as a big group. During that trip, I decided not to bring my cell phone. That's right, one WHOLE WEEK without a cell phone or internet. At the beginning, it did feel a bit strange. As the week went on, I really learned to appreciate it. I never found myself checking to see if I had a message or even seeing what time it was. When students would ask what time it was, I could honestly tell them, I didn't know. My times of day were morning, after lunch, after dinner, and bed time. I couldn't check facebook to see what everyone else was doing. I was simply living.
During this trip, I learned a little bit about what it meant to be still. I learned what it meant to set aside distractions and let my heart be fully focused on my walk with Christ. During that time, I really saw God work, not only in my, but the other leaders and students' lives as well. Part of me really misses that trip. I miss not having a phone. I miss being in a community where there was always someone to talk to or hangout with, but also an opportunity to step back and be with God. I was on that trip to serve, but through that opportunity, my own faith grew.
When I think about living a life worthy of the calling I have received, I think of that week. My purpose was to serve. My purpose was to daily walk with those around me, encouraging and being encouraged to follow Christ more faithfully than the day before. Seeing this play out, I watched a girl in my group struggle through the overnight hike. Yet I watched others in the group step up and care for her in ways that we are called to.
On the other side, I myself struggled at the beginning of the white water rafting. Yet through prayer and others, God revealed to me the truth of who he is. Through literally every rapid I would pray, "God, nothing can happen outside of your plan. These are your waves Lord." Through every rapid we went through, I put a little more faith in him. By the end, I was able to enjoy white water rafting.
God has shown me how that is true in life as well. As I learn to trust him more with each test he sends me through, I learn to find joy in those moments. Can it still be scary going through the Class 5 rapids of life? Most definitely. God does call me to a peaceful life where nothing hard happens. He calls me to a radical life where Class 5 rapids are all around me. He calls me to stand up for him. He calls me to care of the widow and orphan. He calls me to put my own interests aside for the sake of others. He calls me to trust that he will be with me, when like Peter, the waves are crashing against me. He calls me to live a life fully dependent on him. When I'm going through the tough times, go to him. Like the guide in white water rafting, God will direct me to do what I need to do, right when I need to do it. God doesn't call me to live life on my own.
John Shedd is quoted as saying, "A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are built for." Jesus calls me to serve when it's hard, forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, and follow the seemingly unreasonable commands he gives me.
A life worth living isn't measured by how well you succeeded in business or how great you are at something. A worthy life is defined by how you followed after Jesus. It's defined by how faithful you were during the good times and the hard times. Don't let the fears or distractions of life, keep you from living the life God called you to live.
YOLO. Are you willing to sail out onto uncharted waters for the sake of Christ? What is God calling you to do right now? Who is God calling you to love right now? Who is God calling you to pray for? Who is He calling you to care for?
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