As we’ve been preparing for the release of a new workbook, Hear God Calling You: A Biblical and Practical Approach to Discerning Your Calling and Finding Career Fulfillment, we’ve mentioned that it’s filled with practical exercises designed to help you apply the concepts to your life. Today I’ll be sharing with you two of those exercises to give you a better idea of what to expect.
Relationship Depth Scale Exercise
Take a moment to think about how deep your relationship with God is right now? Do you feel connected with Him? Now, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very far and 10 being very close, where would you put your relationship and connection with God right now? What number did you choose and why?
Now choose a number from that 1 to 10 scale that represents where you want to be in your relationship with God? What number did you choose and why?
What concrete steps can you take this week to increase the depth of your relationship with God? After all, we have this promise: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8)
Perhaps you’ll choose spending time in prayer or worship with God, reading your Bible, or giving of your time or talent to serve someone in need. Whatever you choose, we suggest getting as specific and tactical as possible with your steps. Successful plans often follow the acronym SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based.
Take a Day with God Exercise
A few months ago, we shared a blog post called “Take A Day With God,” which is actually one of our exercises from Chapter 2 of the Hear God Calling You workbook! This exercise would also be a great choice to take you closer to God.
Why Does It Matter?
In the Hear God Calling You workbook, we start out with so much emphasis on your relationship with God because it’s the key to hearing from Him about your calling. This is not a transactional approach, this is a transformational approach. It’s not, “if I am good and perfect God will give me what I want.” It’s relational. “If I grow close to God, I will start to want more of what He wants.” While you are looking for details about your calling from God, it is important that you are obedient to what God has already told you to do. If you are not obedient to what you already know, what’s to say that you suddenly will be obedient when God’s calling pushes you out of your comfort zone or asks you to do something new?
Laura Miller works for Crossroads Career as a writer and editor, and lives in the Kansas City area with her accountant husband. Laura hosts and produces The Library Laura Podcast, which is a weekly dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm. She also runs the Crossroads Career Podcast, with new episodes every two weeks to encourage you in your career journey. Previously, she worked in the insurance and retail industries.
