Is there a way to find out what God called you to do?

[Inkachu]

Ask Him! Try to stay humble, pliable, and open. Try not to let your desires and wishes get in the way of hearing what He might say to you. Tell Him that you're willing to do whatever He wants, and to help you recognize the path He wants you to walk. Then just do what you know to do, follow His commandments, live faithfully, and keep listening for that 'still small voice' in your heart. God doesn't want us floundering aimlessly through life, constantly wondering 'am I doing God's will? am I doing God's will?' There's a universal purpose for everyone (follow His Biblical commandments in your day-to-day), but there's also a specific purpose for everyone, which, I think, is what we all mean when we say 'what is God's will for me?' The NT lays it out very clearly that we all have different and varying gifts, abilities, and roles. Ask yourself, what are you passionate about? That's not the same as what you 'like to do'. Passion means something that DRIVES you, from deep within, something you can't ignore or put aside. Is it art? Is it science? Is it acts of service? Is it counseling? Is it writing? Is it teaching? Identify what drives you, then ask God to USE it...after all, chances are that He put it in you to begin with! And don't get discouraged if you don't see any doors opening right away. Remember that God works behind the scenes, where we can't always see what's happening, but He doesn't forget us AND He has something for us to do. So stay willing, stay humble, stay open, and stay ready. And never say "never". God can CHANGE us into what He intends for us to be. I can't impress that enough. I've seen God take people (myself included) who had zero interest or natural talent in something, and GIVE them the love and skill and passion that they needed to do something they NEVER imagined they would do. Never, ever, ever limit God.

/soapbox moment

 

[Blank123]

I'd seriously recommend a book called, "Is that you, Lord?" By Gary Gilley which addresses this very topic. Very Biblical and may help clarify things for you.

 

[darktipper]

I miss out on all blessings if there are any.

 

[Revived]

I miss out on all blessings if there are any.

If you feel you're missing out on blessings, it's all about obedience. Read Deut 28.

 

[PeculiarTreasure]

I've been asking myself this for years and years. I have no idea...

 

[Riot Riot Riot]

Find your passions in life. Pray about them, and pursue God's Will for your life. If one of your passions ends up leading you down a road that can also be used to bring glory to God, then I believe that would be a good place to start.

I think we're all able to have more than one specific calling. One calling might apply to one area of your life for a certain amount of time, until God decides to move you elsewhere.

As I said, pursue your passions, and pray.

 

[Tink]

blind post:
A lot of prayer and listening. Sometimes we forget the listening part.

 

[Thunder Peel]

I think it's important to just serve and start small. Serving in church, giving money, or just praying and listening to others can be a huge help and can open doors to other opportunities. If you want to be used then God will lead you to those opportunities. You just have to be open and receptive to where He sends you.

 

[Inkachu]

I miss out on all blessings if there are any.

You're alive, healthy enough to sit there and type on a computer, you have your right mind... dude, you HAVE blessings. Millions of people around the world would give anything to have what you have right now.

 

[darktipper]

Find your passions in life. Pray about them, and pursue God's Will for your life. If one of your passions ends up leading you down a road that can also be used to bring glory to God, then I believe that would be a good place to start.

I think we're all able to have more than one specific calling. One calling might apply to one area of your life for a certain amount of time, until God decides to move you elsewhere.

As I said, pursue your passions, and pray.

I have been doing that for a decade now and got doors slammed in my face. Looks like I will just have to blow up the door soon....

You're alive, healthy enough to sit there and type on a computer, you have your right mind... dude, you HAVE blessings. Millions of people around the world would give anything to have what you have right now.

Yep. Not the full blessings that I would like though.

blind post:
A lot of prayer and listening. Sometimes we forget the listening part.

Sometimes I wish that I could hear voices like Samuel..... Praying feels like I am talking to myself.

---------------------------------

I stopped praying for his will in my life. I was praying for it for a while and nothing.... Just failures.

 

[MacFall]

It is a concurrence between these two factors: (1) what you are good at; (2) what most affects the lives of other people toward spiritual edification.

For example, I'm really good at writing.
I'm also sort of good at music, and I enjoy it slightly less.
But I am not very good at touching people spiritually through writing, whereas in music, I am. Therefore I believe my calling to be in music rather than writing.

And I'm not very good at much else except for rhetoric. I think I have a very specific (rather than lifelong) calling to publish a rhetorical work on a particular Christian doctrine, but since that's just a single project I still do not consider either publishing or rhetoric to be my calling.

In rough terms you can think about it like a supply/demand curve, with "level of talent" on the X axis and "spiritual effectiveness" on the Y. Whichever concurrence is the furthest along the Y axis is likely to be your calling. Of course, that's a very crude illustration, but I think it demonstrates the concept.

But you need insight and wisdom to figure those things out, and for that you need to engage in prayer. Lots of prayer. Talk to your Father about it, and to other Christians who might be able to help you.

 

[Rhye]

Yep. Not the full blessings that I would like though.

Do you rather be sick, unable to move, lose someone, be alone, etc., etc., instead? I truly loved Vicky's posts because it was extremely encouraging and beautiful. Don't get me wrong there are days that I am upset with myself and so upset that that I think even the Lord is angry with me, when I know better. There are days when every single thing that I have worked for and for everything people have given me seem to not mean anything because I want one thing...one thing. As though that one thing would make every other blessing that I have received ten times better. Will it be? I don't know, but each time I have not listened to God and done what I wanted without His guidance and without prayer I have lost in some ways.

I have been praying for some things in my life that I have yet to receive and still I pray. I also go to people who are going to help me through things. I have learned who to go to and who to not go to when I am in hardship. Do you have such people? I think the greatest of these lessons have been to take care of yourself and your health. Is your mind, body, and spirt at balance? Are you eating right? Are you going for check ups? Are you sleeping well? Are you taking care of yourself*??!! If not...DO IT! NOW! Maybe when those things are at balance you can also find what you have been searching for.

I don't know if its good advice but thats all I have for now. My prayers are with you!

 

[SportsJunkie25]

Dear OP,

I feel your pain. I've been trying to figure out God's will for my life since the summer of 2007. I've become SO fed up with "searching" that I've kind of come to the conclusion that I/we must be doing something wrong. I find it hard to believe that God will keep His will from us if we're really trying to fulfill it. So, maybe we just have to make a move? Maybe we just have to do something and be the light of this world while we're doing _____. And, once we start doing that, maybe God will create a specific path from what we've chosen to pursue.

All I know is if you're not at peace about a decision, don't force it and don't do it. With that said, there may be a couple of other decisions you're at peace about but don't know which one to choose; just choose one. Don't be like me and waste years away "searching" for something that may not come to you. God gave us interests for a reason. Follow 'em!

Btw, don't be afraid that you will choose the wrong path. I've learned that God will repeatedly close doors if He doesn't want you to walk through them. If you don't get a closed door, keep walking.

Best wishes!

 

[darktipper]

If he keeps closing the doors on me then I will have to blow it up. I only have 1 interest. The rest did not pan out. And now the door is being shut on my only interest left? TNT is needed

 

[KingCrimson250]

-snip-

Heeey! Good to see you're still around! Last time I was here you were making Youtube videos for everyone, haha. That was a great thread.

Uh, sorry. I guess that's a little off topic

Anyway, I agree with what's been said - prayer and trial and error are the two big things. There is no mistake you make that God can't redeem, so try to avoid wallowing in indecision. Sometimes there will be no "wrong" answer for what you can do, simply three or four different things that glorify Him!