How to Know If You Have a Calling from God

Okay, you think you're called to ministry. Some sort of Christian work really speaks to you. But how can you know for sure?

Most of us would like it if the process could be expressed as "If A happens, then B will follow, and the rest is inevitable." But it usually doesn't work like that.

Over the years, I've encountered many who believed they have a calling from God. Each of them has expressed some frustration about knowing for sure, or about knowing when. Over the last ten years of this blog, several readers have asked me to write about my experience. And I have, but perhaps not at length.

If you ask 20 pastors, evangelists, Christian writers, or teachers how they knew for sure, you'll likely receive 20 different answers. Our Heavenly Father is a God of infinite diversity, and He speaks to each of us in individually-personalized ways. That being said, there are some ways to be sure ... some things which speak to an experienced counselor of a genuine calling.

One Sunday when I was 12 years old, the pastor spoke of his own calling. He had been sitting in a church service, he said, and saw a mother with a newborn baby. That arrested his attention, and he heard that still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12) saying, "You've been a Christian for years, but yet you've contributed no more to My kingdom than that baby."

As he told that story, I began to cry. I didn't understand why, but had the thought "That's just like me." Without any specific instruction, I just knew it was real. I had no thoughts about how or when it might happen, but I knew.

And of course, being the stubborn person that I am, I began to bargain with God. I told him that I'd be a music minister but I certainly wouldn't preach. The thought of public speaking frightened me. And I'd NEVER be a pastor, I said. And I didn't tell anyone else, as far as I can recall.

A few years later, the county association of churches decided to form a group of young lay pastors. The idea was to take all those who showed signs of a true calling, provide them with some training, and make the available to fill in for vacationing pastors, as needed.

My hand went up without any concious decision on my part; to be honest, I looked at it in amazement and wondered how it happened. But even more surprising was the fact that the pastor and deacons never once questioned that fact that I volunteered. Prior to that moment, I still hadn't ever told anyone what had happened to me. (The rest of my personal journey is a story for another time.)

Pro Tip #1: when your calling is genuine, experienced leaders in the church will probably know it before you do.

Some things which the genuinely-called will experience can be summarized like this:

• When you're called, there will be confirmation. Someone else will notice. 
• It will keep coming back. Not as an obsession, but in repeated experiences wherein you're reminded powerfully that something bigger than yourself is waiting. In fact, you probably should try to put it out of mind. If you can forget about it, it most likely wasn't the Lord in the first place.
• It is inescapable. Some who are called are frightened by the idea, and try to run away from it. But it keeps coming back, sometimes in surprising ways.
• Anything you do when moving in that direction will come surprisingly easily. Anything you do in trying to escape the calling will be hard ... and you'll be miserable. 

Pro Tip #2: when the hand of the Lord is on you for a particular task, He will open doors and put you in the right places, and in front of the right people, to accomplish that task. (Proverbs 18:16)

And the "when" is just as important as the "what." The Lord's timing is perfect, and ours ... isn't. Too many have acknowledged a calling, and then rushed out to claim it. Somehow. And failed mightily, because it wasn't time yet. All I can say is to seek guidance and counsel from elders / counselors / your pastor(s) / etc., and listen for the prompting of God.

And, just for the record, let me say this: if you go into the ministry but try to exceed your calling or try to fulfill a role to which you are not called, that will make you miserable, too. We've seen a case where a powerfully anointed, gifted evangelist started a church and tried to pastor it.

It ate him up, and "miserable" is an understatement. He has since abandoned the effort, and is back to evangelism.



This is a very abbreviated discussion of the topic, but it's not possible to provide individual advice through a short article. If anyone has questions, my e-mail is manager208 AT gmail DOT com.