How to Know What Your Calling Is from God (Life’s Ultimate Joy!)

Inside: Here’s how to know what your calling is from God. Plus what the Bible says about your calling and essential guiding truths as you get after life’s ultimate joy!

I once endured the most useless Christian career counseling session in the history of the world.

I just wanted to know how to find my calling from God. And do you know what the counselor said to me?

“God’s calling on your life is to serve Him.”

I almost rolled my eyes clear out of my head but I just managed to catch myself and keep my face neutral.

“Yes, but how?” I pressed for a real answer. I mean, what was I supposed to do with this empty-sounding, cookie-cutter response? I needed actionable advice!

So I tried again but he skillfully sidestepped my question, sticking to the script and droning on about finding my calling in God. I tuned out the rest of his spiel because clearly, he wouldn’t be giving me practical help that day.

As he continued his spiritual pep talk, all I could think was, “Seriously, why is this so hard? I just want someone to tell me how to know what my calling is from God.”

How Do You Know What Your Calling Is with God?

That Christian career counseling session was my latest failed attempt at pinning down my calling from God. You’ve probably been in one too.

And now it’s gotten to the point where you feel like you’re stuck in God’s waiting room. Like you’ve been hanging out there forever, hoping it’ll finally be your turn to catch a clue for how to know what your calling is from God.

I mean, it’s not that your job is terrible. Back when you first started, you were all gung ho about it. But now it doesn’t fire you up anymore because you’re pretty sure it’s nowhere near what God is calling you to do. And it for sure doesn’t feel like you’re making a difference in the world.

So you do what you’ve done a million times before. You:

Dive into the latest career quiz, trying to find your strengths and what jobs best match your personality.
Consider going back to university for a whole new degree.
Sign up—yet again—for more career counseling services. Tenth time’s the charm, right?

But as always, none of it works. So you try shoving away the restlessness and dread that wash over you every time you go to work.

Here’s the thing though. Your restlessness is your heart’s suspicion that God must have more for you than this. That He must have a calling on your life, which comes with unimaginable joy and boundless fulfillment.

Good news: your heart is spot on. God’s always had a plan for your life and a special calling for you.

If only you could figure out how to know what your calling is from God.

Why Can’t I Figure Out What Is My Calling from God?

All the things you’ve tried to find your calling from God produce results for half the world. So why do they keep failing you?

I’m glad you asked. Let’s look at 3 reasons.

1. The world’s standards aren’t God’s standards.

You’re God’s daughter, a confessed, baptized believer in Jesus Christ. This means you’re connected to the Source of all life in the universe, which is how you know in your gut that the world’s standards can’t begin to compare to God’s standards.

It’s how you know His plan for you must be better than any plan the world tells you to follow. So anything less than what He has for you will never satisfy you.

Besides, you’ve already followed the world’s plan, and look where it’s gotten you. You might be earning a bunch of money but you still feel lost in your life—and frustrated in yet another pointless career counseling session—wondering how to know what your calling is from God.

2. You imposed your expectations on God, then gave up when He didn’t meet them.

Yes, you asked God what He wanted you to do with your life. But you also set limits on Him—on how He could answer you and by when. So when He didn’t respond within those limits, you determined to find your own way.

Not to diminish how well you’ve done so far under your own steam. But you know what you can do through God’s calling for your life must be better than this.

3. You’re looking for answers in all the wrong places.

You’re seeking how to know what your calling is from God, yet you’re looking everywhere except at God.

Here’s the thing. You’re free to choose any path you want to follow because God will never force anything on you. He allows you to call the shots because He knows once you’ve tried all the things and failed to find answers in them, you’d finally know the truth: Only He has the real answer for what your calling is.

And you’re going to have to trust His answer and His plan for bringing it to life.

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What Does the Bible Say about What God Is Calling Me to Do?

Now, if you’re ever to stop wasting your emotional energy—looking toward the wrong sources and chasing the wrong goals—you need to start in the right place: What the Word says about what your calling is from God.

Not to side with your platitude-spewing Christian career counselor, but they’re not wrong when they say God’s calling on your life is to serve Him.

Still, they’re talking about your general Christian calling. What you want to know is your specific calling, which is how God wants you to walk out that general calling.

Let’s look at both perspectives since they’ll help with how to know what your calling is from God.

Your General Calling from God as a Christian

People have been adding to and subtracting from the 10 Commandments since God gave them back at Mount Sinai. But Jesus made it simple and clear:

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22:34-40 (NLT)

So your first step in how to know what your calling is from God is understanding this: You must love Him, love yourself, and love and serve others.

Jesus also said:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)

This ties back to your calling from God because when you love others, you want what’s best for them. Like sharing the good news of the gospel so they have a chance at life in Christ and eternity with God.

Here’s more from Jesus:

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Matthew 5:16 (NLT)

This means one part of your calling from God is living in a way that glorifies Him so others are attracted to Him.

This doesn’t mean acting like you’re perfect, because you’re not. Instead, it means admitting when you’re wrong, then apologizing and making up for it where you can. It means walking in integrity with God’s word. And it means living by His standards, not yours or anyone else’s.

Your Unique Calling from God

But how do you know what your specific calling is from God? Does the Bible say anything about God creating you to do something special?

Let me tell you clearly what your Christian counselor keeps avoiding: You can comb your Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you won’t find an answer for how to know what your unique calling is from God.

But it does say this:

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing
1 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NLT)

So as a part of the body of Christ, you have spiritual gifts. And God expects you to use them to help others.

This is part of why you’re restless in your current career. Because while you’re good at it, you’re not using the gifts God wants you to put to work in this season of your life.

Now, let’s talk about your career and your calling so we get on the same page about the role of each in your life.

Is Your Career the Same as Your Calling from God?

You can’t throw a stone on the internet without hitting an article about the difference between a career and a calling. So we won’t go too deep into the difference between your career and your calling from God.

Still, let’s talk about two Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions so we’re speaking the same language:

Calling: a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence; the vocation or profession in which one customarily engages.
Career: a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling; a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in public, professional, or business life.

I disagree with one part of this dictionary definition of “career.” Your career certainly doesn’t have to be permanent, since God may call you to different careers at different times in your life.

For example, at one time He called me to be a children’s teacher, while at another time He called me to be a blogger. In fact, both of those careers overlapped for a while.

Also, some people like keeping these two concepts separate, saying your career doesn’t have to be your calling.

Strictly speaking, they’re not wrong. But if you’re like me, you’d prefer to live your calling from God as your career.

So as we continue our chat here, I’ll occasionally use the term career calling to mean: A profession you undertake with passion for a season—whether long or short—based on a strong inner prompting from God.

Now that we’re speaking the same language, we’re a step closer to helping you know what your calling is from God.

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But First, A Warning

One more thing before we dive into how to find your calling from God. We need to clear up some misunderstandings because these may trip you up on the way.

As you follow the steps I’ll lay out for how to know what your calling is from God, keep the following important points in mind. But don’t get discouraged. My intention isn’t to stop you before you start. I’m just keeping it real so you’ll know what to expect on your journey.

1. God probably won’t give you the entire roadmap for your calling in one go.

This can be frustrating but it’s true, and you’ll only make your frustration worse if you fight it. You may as well accept it and get ready to be flexible.

It simply means you may as well stop waiting for God to give you His entire master plan for your calling, because He probably won’t. Instead, be prepared to take the next best step He shows you at each stage of your journey.

But here’s what’s for sure: each step you take in obedience and with courage will lead you further along the path He’s laid out for your life.

2. You’ll need to care more about God’s calling than other people’s opinions.

The truth is, your calling from God may look weird, small, or stupid to other people. And if your pride and their opinions matter more to you than true happiness, you’ll abandon your calling before you even find it.

As sure as the sun rises in the east, at some point in your journey, you’ll need to make an intentional decision about whose opinion matters to you more: God’s or other people’s.

The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.
Proverbs 29:25 (MSG)

When you come up against this decision, just remember: if you go all-in with God and trust Him above all others, He’s faithful to give you an extraordinary life and a fulfilling career calling.

3. Living your calling from God probably won’t be easy or happen fast.

A lie is going around that following God’s call on your life is easy and feels good. It’s not true.

Jesus Himself said.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (NLT)

You don’t happen to be exempt from life’s troubles, even when—especially when—you’re going after your God-inspired career calling.

Here’s another lie making the rounds: Once you start on the road to living your calling from God, you’ll achieve your goal fast. But your path rarely unfolds this way.

You’ll make mistakes, have setbacks, and sometimes you’ll feel like you’re not moving at all. You may even have to keep working at your current dread-inducing job while you side-hustle your new career calling.

But this is all part of the process. So don’t let any of it be a bigger challenge than it needs to be.

Bonus: As a bonus for joining my weekly newsletter, get this free download—Your Faith & Trust Reboot. It gives you 5 simple tweaks to power up your prayers for direction so you can triumph over doubt and fear.

Why You Should Still Go After Your Calling from God

With these warnings ringing in your ears, you’re probably wondering if what you’ll have to go through is worth finding out how to know what your calling is from God. At the very least, it sounds like it’ll be uncomfortable. At the very worst, it sounds like you might lose some friends.

This is all true but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

First, allowing and going through discomfort is how you grow, mature, and step more into the woman God created you to be.

Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4 (CSB)

Second, anyone who’s against you pursuing your God-given career calling—the highest and best possible use of your one and only life—may not be someone whose opinion you want to give a lot of weight as you go after your dreams.

How to Know What Your Calling Is from God

So what’s your career calling? The short answer is, only you and God know.

Yes, you think you don’t know and that He’s keeping it a secret from you. But for one reason or another, you’ve missed—or deliberately ignored—some vital clues. I know I sure did! Clues like:

A secret dream God gave you, which seemed impossible to attain so you dismissed it.
Others belittled your dream so you abandoned it.
The life you dreamed of seemed like it would take forever for you to create it, so you chose a faster route to what looked like a good-enough life.

But you missed something else while you were letting doubt, fear, and impatience get between you and your calling from God:

Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”
Mark 10:27 (CSB)

What you need to do now is rediscover the clues you missed before, then follow them. They’re how you’ll know what your calling is from God.

Now, lots of people will tell you to make a list of your talents and explore your gifts from there. This may work for some but I’ve never found it particularly useful. I mean, you may have a talent for math but do you want to turn it into a career? Probably not.

Instead, follow this simple process.

1. Submit your will to God.

Let’s be honest. You went your own way and chased what the world said you should want because you were impatient and refused to submit to God—to His timing, His will, and His methods.

So start by thinking about what submission means to you.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
1 Peter 5:6 (NLT)

Then submit yourself to God’s calling for your life as He reveals it, whatever it is.

Remember, God’s calling for you is for His glory, not your comfort or kudos. This takes commitment and perseverance, especially when going after your calling from God feels hard.

2. Dig up the dream you buried.

If you’re like me, at some point, God planted a dream in your heart. But it may have looked unconventional, it may have seemed impossible, or maybe God wouldn’t give you the whole roadmap for making it real.

So you buried it deep in your heart and tried to forget about it.

Turns out, your calling from God lives in the dream you buried. And it’s time to dig it up so you can get after it.

One way to do this is to get quiet and prayerfully go back to your earliest childhood dreams. Consider using journal prompts to uncover your purpose.

Or you can close your eyes and imagine you get the chance to restart your life and no one’s opinion matters except yours and God’s. What would you choose to do with your time?

Don’t shy away from your instinctive answers, no matter how trivial or impossible they may seem. You’ll find the first clue to your calling from God in these answers.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
Zechariah 4:10a (NLT)

3. Be courageous and faithful.

As you now know, whether the calling you find buried in your heart seems small or feels audacious, going after it won’t be easy.

You may have to give up a lot of what you’ve been hanging on to, like your position, image, and pride. But this is what submission to God looks like in action. And it means you’ll have to be brave and decide to do whatever God shows you in pursuit of your calling.

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:7 (NLT)

Plus, you’ll have to be faithful, especially when it looks like your pursuit is leading you nowhere.

A Resource for How to Find Your Calling from God

As I said, only you and God know the calling He has for you. And when you get busy casting a fresh vision for your career calling, you stop chasing what others say you should want and start going after what God has for you instead.

To do this, you need to go deep into your heart where you buried the dreams God gave you and dig them up so you can start creating a work life you love.

The 21-Day Finding Your Dream Work Journal is the guide you need on your journey to discovering what God is calling you to do in this season of your life. Each day, it gives you prompts to help you uncover your true, God-given work desires so you can transform your life.

Get the Finding Your Dream Work Journal and use it to start uncovering your big vision for the work life you desire. So you can start living the life God has for you.

Get Up and Get After Your Calling from God

My darling, you don’t have to keep bashing your head against the proverbial wall, wondering how to know what your calling is from God. You don’t have to keep badgering your poor Christian career counselor for how to find your calling from God. And you can stop feeling like you need to hatch an escape plan to get out of God’s waiting room:

Taking every career calling quiz known to man.
Trying out the latest dream career discovery program.
Researching your local college campus for their latest degree offering you pray will be your magic bullet.

Instead:

Get with God and submit your will to Him.
Get busy digging into your heart for the clues He’s planted there to your calling.
Be brave and step into your calling with faith.

A final word about what God is calling you to do: It may change in different seasons of your life. It will surely evolve through your renewed mind as you mature in Him. So don’t expect your calling from God to stay static.

And never doubt God for a specific calling on your life, because He has one. He’ll even prepare you for it, no matter how incompetent you feel.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT)

Your sole job, then, is to trust Him and do what He tells you as you walk the path He’s laid out for you, one faithful step at a time.

Then as you pursue your calling from God, you’ll look up and find yourself in more than a career calling. You’ll discover a whole new energizing, passion-filled way of life.

In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel.
Ephesians 4:1 (MSG)

How to Know What Your Calling Is from God (It’s Life’s Ultimate Joy!)