Finding Your Calling: Joy, Service, and Impact

Devotional

Day 1: Discovering Your Unique Calling

Our calling is found at the intersection of our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger. This is where our passions meet the needs of the world, creating a life of purpose and fulfillment. The journey to discover this calling is not about choosing between self-denial or self-indulgence but finding that sweet spot where our joy aligns with the world's needs. This intersection is where we can make the most significant impact, as our work becomes both sustainable and meaningful. Reflecting on what brings us joy and what the world needs can guide us to this place of calling. [03:51]

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Reflection: What are the activities or causes that bring you the most joy and fulfillment? How do they align with the needs you see in the world around you?

Day 2: Balancing Desires with Service

Desires are indicators of God's calling, but they must be balanced with the needs of the world. It's not about self-gratification but about serving others and fulfilling God's purpose for our lives. Our desires can guide us, but they should not be the sole focus. Instead, they should be aligned with a greater purpose that serves others. This balance ensures that our work is not only enjoyable but also impactful, as it meets the needs of those around us. [05:21]

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: Consider a desire or passion you have. How can you use it to serve others and meet a need in your community today?

Day 3: Transforming Suffering into Comfort

Our deep sadness and suffering can become sources of comfort and healing for others. Through our experiences, we can uniquely minister to those who are suffering in similar ways. Just as God comforts us in our troubles, we are called to comfort others. Our experiences of pain and loss can equip us to empathize and support those who are going through similar challenges. This transformation of suffering into a source of comfort is a powerful way to make a difference in the lives of others. [07:43]

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a time when you experienced deep sadness or suffering. How can you use that experience to offer comfort and support to someone else today?

Day 4: Reflecting on Joy and Pain

Reflect on your areas of deep gladness and sadness. These are the places where God might be calling you to make a difference, using your unique gifts and experiences to serve others. By understanding what brings us joy and what has caused us pain, we can discern where we are being called to serve. This reflection helps us identify the unique contributions we can make, whether through practical skills or personal experiences. [09:24]

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of deep gladness and one area of deep sadness in your life? How might God be calling you to use these experiences to serve others?

Day 5: Creating a Ripple Effect of Impact

The impact of our lives extends beyond what we can see. The life we touch will touch another, creating a ripple effect of influence and change. By living out our calling, we can make a difference that goes beyond our immediate surroundings. Each action we take in service to others can inspire and influence those around us, creating a chain reaction of positive change. Making today count means living with intention and purpose, knowing that our efforts can have far-reaching effects. [09:51]

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: Who is someone you can encourage or support today, knowing that your actions might inspire them to do the same for others? How can you create a ripple effect of positive impact in your community?

Sermon Summary

We are created to make a difference in this world, to have an impact that counts. Our journey to discover our calling is a profound one, and it is beautifully encapsulated in the words of Frederick Buechner, who said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." This notion of vocation is not about choosing between a life of self-denial or self-indulgence but finding that intersection where our passions align with the needs of the world.

Buechner's life itself is a testament to this journey. Coming from a non-religious background, he found his calling in ministry and writing after a transformative experience in a church. His words remind us that our calling is not just about what we enjoy but also about what the world needs. It's about finding joy in our work and ensuring that it serves a greater purpose.

Our desires are indicators of God's calling, but they must be balanced with the world's needs. It's not about gratifying our ego but about serving others. This balance is crucial for a fulfilling life. Our deep gladness makes our work sustainable, while the world's deep hunger makes it meaningful.

Moreover, our deep sadness can also guide us. Our sufferings and sorrows can become sources of comfort and healing for others. Just as God comforts us in our troubles, we are called to comfort others. Our experiences of pain and loss can uniquely equip us to minister to those who are suffering in similar ways.

Reflect on your deep gladness and sadness. What brings you joy? What has caused you pain? These are the areas where God might be calling you to make a difference. Whether it's through practical skills, like fixing cars, or through personal experiences of loss or addiction, each of us has a unique contribution to make. As Buechner said, the life we touch will touch another, creating a ripple effect of impact. Make today count.

Key Takeaways

1. Our calling is found at the intersection of our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger. This is where our passions meet the needs of the world, creating a life of purpose and fulfillment. [03:51]
2. Desires are indicators of God's calling, but they must be balanced with the needs of the world. It's not about self-gratification but about serving others and fulfilling God's purpose for our lives. [05:21]
3. Our deep sadness and suffering can become sources of comfort and healing for others. Through our experiences, we can uniquely minister to those who are suffering in similar ways. [07:43]
4. Reflect on your areas of deep gladness and sadness. These are the places where God might be calling you to make a difference, using your unique gifts and experiences to serve others. [09:24]
5. The impact of our lives extends beyond what we can see. The life we touch will touch another, creating a ripple effect of influence and change. Make today count by living out your calling. [09:51]
** [09:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - Discovering Your Calling
[00:45] - Frederick Buechner's Legacy
[01:24] - Jesus' Crown of Joy
[02:26] - Understanding Vocation
[03:37] - Deep Gladness and World Hunger
[04:42] - Desires as Indicators
[05:33] - Personal Journey in Ministry
[06:37] - Sustainable and Meaningful Work
[07:04] - The Role of Deep Sadness
[07:57] - Comforting Others Through Suffering
[08:49] - Finding Your Deep Gladness
[09:24] - Addressing Deep Hunger
[09:38] - The Ripple Effect of Impact
[10:08] - Closing and Contact Information

Sermon Clips

Vocation it comes from the latin vocare to call and it means the work a person is called to do by god there are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work and the problem is to find out which is the voice of god rather than society say or the superego or self-interest. [00:02:33]

By and large a good rule for finding out is this the kind of work god usually calls you to do is the kind of work a that you most need to do and b that the world most needs to have done if you really get a kick out of your work you've presumably met requirement a. [00:02:54]

The place god calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet and that's the sentence the place god calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet not the hair shirt you're not going to find the hair shirt at urban outfitters. [00:03:37]

God generally creates in you the desire to do what it is that god made you to do psalm 145 verse 16 i think it is says that god opens his hands and he satisfies the desires of all living things fish were made to swim and they have a deep desire to do it. [00:04:42]

And the same thing is true of us we were made by god with certain kind of desires and that desire is one indicator of god's calling on your life it's not the only indicator and if i make my life just about the gratification of my own desires then ego is on the throne not god. [00:05:05]

Our deep gladness is what makes our work sustainable the world's deep hunger is what makes our work meaningful but then it's to be work that we offer to god and i think the thing that i would add to discover your deep gladness would be also discover your deep sadness. [00:06:37]

God is the god of compassion and the father of all comfort who comforts us with his comfort so that we might be able to comfort others with the comfort that we ourselves have received and the idea which is rooted very deeply in the cross of jesus that it is through our suffering. [00:07:04]

Through our sorrows through our sadness that we somehow find god and hope and comfort and healing in a deeper way and then we're able to give that to other people i think about my friend steve who lost a child about a decade ago and he says every day is like there's a dog of sorrow. [00:07:38]

I think about a friend of mine who struggles with anxiety and she's able to speak hope into the lives of other deeply anxious people in ways that somebody just kind of skates through life without ever feeling nervous about much would never be able to touch them would never be able to have that calling. [00:08:09]

Spend some time thinking about what's an area of deep gladness for you what's the desire that god has placed in your heart i think about one friend of mine who loves cars loves to fix cars and he realized one of the things he could do is he could help out use that to help out single moms. [00:08:49]

It may be something that's super practical it may look quite small what's an area of deep gladness that just brings you joy might involve words might involve deeds might involve something that you do with your hands might involve music where's god calling you to use that to address the deep hunger in our world. [00:09:24]

The life i touch for good or ill will touch another life and then turn another until who knows where the trembling stops or in what place my touch will be felt make today count. [00:09:38]

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