"The Vocation Wherewith Ye Are Called"

We have all probably read the first two verses of Ephesians 4 many times. It is something that has been on my mind a lot lately, so I thought that I would share some of my studies on what my vocation is.

Ephesians 4:1-2
"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love"

It is apparent how we are to walk in our "vocations": worthily, humbly, meekly, patiently, lovingly. But WHAT IS MY VOCATION? There are so many opinions out there in the world coming at us from all sides as young people, telling us who we need to be in order to matter in the world, and what sort of vocation (aka paying job) we should pursue in order to be "successful". So, what is the truth? What does God say about a Christian's vocation?

First, I want to take a step backwards and look at the meaning of the word. According to the Greek definition in Strongs (#2821:klesis), vocation means "calling, station in life". Vines Dictionary expands this a little further to state, "to be called by a name or to bear a name. Thus it suggests either vocation or destination". If our vocation is our calling from God and also the name that we bear, this indicates to me that our true "vocation" has very little to do with how we earn our living and everything to do with how we wear the name of Christian. Do we walk worthy of that name?

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."

If we choose to walk in the vocation that God has chosen for us instead of the one the world would choose, there will be so many times that people will try to make us feel foolish, weak, base and despised. But good news: that's the type of person God usually calls, so that means we're probably on the right track! There is no reason to be ashamed of this, but remember that, like Paul, we must "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). There is NO higher calling than that of a servant of Christ!

I know you've already read a lot about contentment on our blog here, but I think it's interesting to note another verse that addresses our calling in Christ and how we shouldn't be envious of another's calling or resent our station in life.

1 Corinthians 7:17
"But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches."

We are all given certain gifts and talents from God that are to be used to glorify Him through our lives. Even if you feel as if you do not have anything special to offer, look at these verses! "God hath distributed to EVERY man"...."God hath chosen the weak things of the world". It doesn't matter if we amount to anything in the world's eyes, because God does not look at us like man does. He's not impressed with how much money is in our bank account, what kind of car we drive or how powerful of a crowd we hang out with, what matters to Him is that we walk worthy of our TRUE vocation and bring Him glory by being the true definition of a Christian: Christ-like.

Covetousness vs. Contentment

I have been thinking a lot about covetousness lately and the sneaky way it can creep into our lives without our realizing it. We recently heard a lesson at Highway on "Our Conversation", and this verse really jumped out at me:

Hebrews 13:5

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

It's amazing how often I catch myself being guilty of covetousness, and for years I didn't even realize that it was a problem for me! I thought that covetousness was being envious of other people's things and having a hateful, jealous attitude. But when I took a closer look at the Word, I noticed that right after the admonition to be without covetousness is the added command to be content with such things as I have. Uh-oh. How often have I been guilty of complaining about my job, my apartment, my clothes, my bank account. I thought it was ok because I wasn't begrudging anybody else's possessions; I just wanted a few nicer things of my own. But a truly focused Christian is content with the things that they have. Why? Because God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us, and ultimately, that is all any of us really need.

The Greek word in Hebrews 13:5 is aphilargyros and is defined in Strong's concordance as "not loving money, not greedy". We also know from 1 Timothy 6:10 that "the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

So, if my way of life is supposed to be without love of money and not greedy, then how can I justify a lifestyle of buying new clothes for every season, having 14 pairs of shoes in my closet, and planning a future around career goals instead of spiritual goals? Can I look myself straight on in the mirror and honestly say that my lifestyle is without greediness?

How Can I Be Content In a Situation That I Didn't Choose?? (Part 3)

I can focus on the work that God has called me to do and busy myself in becoming a virtuous woman today, married or not. One thing that several of us young women discussed in a study at the camp meeting this year was the verse in Proverbs 31 that states, "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...she will do him good and not evil ALL the days of her life." Several of us had read the book "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy, in which they point out the word "ALL" in that verse. A truly virtuous woman doesn't wait to be virtuous until after she's married...she does good ALL of her life. She doesn't live in such a way that someday her husband will be ashamed to hear of her "wild teenage years". Even more important to us is that we live such a life that Jesus will not be ashamed of. When we use our gifts the way God wants, His name is glorified through this.

1 Peter 4:10,11
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

Another good verse that comes to mind is Colossians 3:17:
"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

There is plenty of work out there to be done that will keep us busy. If we focus on doing this work for the Lord and glorifying Him by our life, this will cause us to think less and less about the things in our lives we are dissatisfied with. We won't have time to worry about chasing boys or feeling sorry for ourselves because we're lonely. We will be too busy thinking of more important things!

How Can I Be Content In a Situation That I Didn't Choose?? (Part 2)

I can trust that God's way is perfect, even if it's not the way I would have chosen for myself.

Let's take a quick look at the example of Mary, a woman "highly favoured" with the Lord. Now can you imagine being a young woman of this time, engaged to be married soon, and to learn the news that you are pregnant? Not only this, but the child is the Son of God! You have been given this huge responsibility (that you didn't even ask for), along with the ridicule and gossip that you would have to face as a woman pregnant out of wedlock. How would you respond to this message from the angel?

Luke 1:38
"And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

Everytime I read that verse, it sends chills down my arms! Even in circumstances that would look highly troublesome and undesirable to the worldly eye and that would turn her world completely upside down from any plans she had made on her own, Mary was wise enough to see that God's way was good even if she did not understand the whole picture right away. We, too, are the handmaids of the Lord. We should share in that attitude of submission to His will!

Isaiah 55:8-11
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow falleth from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

I am awed and amazed at the way God can see the big picture of the past, present and future and He is putting it all together with His perfect wisdom and understanding. Sometimes it feels like things are going all wrong, but when I read these words in Isaiah, it is a sweet reminder that God is so much smarter than me and even though I don't understand what is going on, He does. What a relief...

Single and Content: Introduction

So often in life as a single woman, I find myself looking in the mirror and wondering, "Where did I go wrong?". As little girls, marriage and motherhood is so deeply ingrained into our visions of adulthood that we often fail to imagine any adulthood at all without these things. Then, when we reach the age of physical maturity and have still not acheived these expected rites of passage, we begin to feel doubt and worry. Doubt that we are "good enough" to deserve a husband; worry that we are unloveable or ugly.

In turning to the Word of God, we can quickly see that doubt and worry have no place in our lives as a Christian woman. In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul encourages the Philippians:

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do ALL THINGS through CHRIST which strengtheneth me."

Content: (Strong's Concordance # 842) "autarkes" = "self-complacent; content".
(Vine's Expository Dictionary) = "sufficient in oneself, self-sufficient, adequate, needing no assistance; hence, content"

If we take a look at the context here, we can note that Paul is referring to a situation where he was in need of assistance in the work he was doing and had not always received the help that perhaps he should have. Nevertheless, he was CONTENT in whatever state God had placed him in. We know from reading in other scriptures that some of those "states" included prison, shipwreck, stoning and false accusations from fellow Christians. And to think that I find myself complaining because I don't have a husband and this makes me feel insecure!! Paul had learned the true definition of contentment, as we see above, which is being "self-complacent" and "needing no assistance". He placed his trust in God and didn't need the affirmation of others in order to be fulfilled.

Notice how Paul says "I have LEARNED...to be content". Contentment is not something that comes easily to any of us. We all have our natural tendencies to want more, to feel like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. But by looking at God to guide our emotions and motives, we can LEARN to be content in whatever life situation He chooses to place us in. Through this study series, we will be looking at ways to find contentment in life circumstances (even when they aren't the ones we would've chosen for ourselves), as well as reminding ourselves of the benefits found in living a life of contentment. I truly believe that it is possible to be both single and content. We don't need to wait on Prince Charming to come along and make all of our dreams come true; we already have access to the King of Kings, and he is the only one who can truly bring contentment to our hearts!!