Before I went on the Race, one of the many answers I gave to the question, “so what do you hope to get out of the World Race?” was to find out the calling God has for my life. What better way to do that than visit 11 countries, 11 ministries, 11 different causes, all while building a community and growing closer to God? Well, God has been throwing that mindset out the window.
I always thought of my calling as my career, where God wanted me to go, and what He wanted me to do. But what if our calling has more to do with our character than our works? What if our calling doesn’t have anything to do with what God has called us to do, but everything to do with who He created us to be? God gives us assignments throughout our lives, but our calling is to be Jesus in every one of those assignments; to be light in the darkness, to be hope to the hopeless, to be a witness, and to be an encouragement.
In reality, every one of our callings is the same: our calling is the be the most Christ-like version of ourselves we can possibly be. Because the more like Jesus I become, the more like Jenna I become- the person that God created me to be. God has a specific purpose for every assignment He gives us. He needs us in that specific place at that specific time. We need Christians to be in the secular workplace, being a witness to coworkers who don’t know God. And in that assignment, you can fulfill your calling.
You don’t need to be an overseas missionary to evangelize, and you don’t need to go out to the nations to bring the Kingdom to earth. Maybe your assignment is a teacher. Be Jesus to your students. Maybe your assignment is a stay-at-home mom. Be Jesus to your husband and your kids. And maybe your assignment is a sandwich maker at Subway. You can be the light and the joy of Christ to every customer you serve. “But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts 20:24
I have many desires that God has placed in my heart; to serve, to be a missionary, to be a wife, to be a mother, and all these desires will play a role in the assignments God has laid out for me. But in every one of these roles, my calling is to be Jesus to everyone I come into contact with. Our job is to be obedient to the call when we hear what God wants us to do. For me, that was to go on the World Race and minister to the nations. There’s a reason God created us to be different people and we’ve been given different gifts and talents. God uses those gifts so you can fulfill your assignment to the best of your ability, all for His glory.
You want to know the meaning of life? Here it is: Be the most Christ-like version of yourself you can possibly be, and you’ll be fulfilling the calling God has on your life. And for me, that’s really exciting. As an imperfect person, I know I will never be able to achieve that, but I do know the character of my God, and that’s a pretty good place to start. He is faithful, and as long as I continue to pursue Him with all I am, I know I’ll be fulfilling the calling God has for me. I may not know what my next assignment is after the World Race, but I don’t need to worry about that, because God does. And in the mean time, I’ll be preparing myself for that assignment by getting everything I can out of this year. Every assignment God gives us is preparing us for our next, and I can only imagine where He’s going to take me from here!
“Who knows but that you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
God bless,
Jenna
