Career + Calling = Maximize Your Career

The unique combination of career plus calling is the only way to really maximize your career.  What do I mean by career and calling?

• Career, according to Webster’s Dictionary, means, among many things, “a course, a passage; a profession for which one undergoes special training and which is undertaken as a permanent calling; an occupation or profession engaged in as a life work.”
• Calling comes from the Greek kaleo, which means “to call anyone, invite, summon.” It refers primarily to a divine call as it relates to a vocation or redemption.

The way to combine career and calling is to focus on hearing and following God’s calling, while you are in the midst of career planning and job search.

How to Hear and Follow God’s Calling

Having helped literally thousands of people through crossroads in their careers, we have heard a variety of different ways that people discern God’s calling. Here are a few we have heard with regularity:

• Worship God:  There is no calling without a Caller. Take dedicated time to worship, glorify, praise and thank Him. Then as you live and work every day from waking until sleeping, do everything to honor Him.
• Read and Study the Bible:  The Bible is God’s authority and our manual for living. Consider it as bread, and feed from it every day. If you have never read the Bible, consider starting with the book of John, Ephesians or Psalms.
• Pray:  Be in conversation with God every day, perhaps multiple times during every day. He is always available. Pray for guidance. Read a Psalm as your own personal prayer.
• Listen to God:  Prayer is two-way communication. In a journal, notebook or this Workbook, write thoughts that come to your mind for later reflection and Bible study.
• Be with Christians:  Spend time with Christians whom you like and who like you. Study the Bible together. Pray together. Encourage one another. Follow the ABCs of Accountability, Belonging and Care.
• Seek Wise Counsel:  Seek wisdom first from above and then from other people. Some may be friends. Some may be strangers with whom we talk only once. Let the wise listen and add to their learning.
• Consider Unfolding Circumstances:  Be a good steward of the opportunities God gives you. Consider each situation with God in prayer. Always measure your prayer, counsel and unfolding circumstances in light of the truth of the Bible.
• Confess and Clear Your Head:  A clear head is critical in thinking through options and seeking God’s leading. It is easy to become confused, especially if sin is getting in the way. Confess it, and clear it out every day.
• Be Alert for God’s Peace:  As you consider various options and paths, be alert for the peace that transcends all understanding, even in the midst of the most chaotic of times.
• Keep a Journal:  Keep track of what you learn from your Bible reading, thoughts you have during prayer, advice you receive from your friends, unfolding circumstances and things that bring you God’s peace.
• Trust and Obey:  There is no other way! If you think the Lord wants you to do something, and it seems to be in alignment with everything we have been talking about, then do it! If you hear Him, follow Him.

Is God Calling You?

The good news is YES!  God, who created the world and everything in it, wants to have a personal relationship with you. He made it possible by His Son paying the price of His life for your sin — the only thing that separates you from Him. By accepting His Son as payment on your behalf, you can have a relationship with the Creator of the universe, starting now and for eternity.

 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

More About God’s Calling

Even in the midst of the agony of defeats, it is possible to experience victories. You can discover that God is good. God is great. Seek Him and His righteousness, and all the other things He has prepared will be added to you. Work out your faith in Him upward, inward and outward. He made you for good works.