Ever get tired of hearing people telling you to find your calling? To chase after the things that are on your heart? To live out that purpose you’re being called to?

Yeah, me too.

… so what happens… when you don’t know… what that calling is? When you don’t know what that purpose is? When you don’t know what those things are that God is putting on your heart?

I have a story that may help:

There was this guy named Samuel… and Samuel heard somebody calling him.

He got up, ran to a man by the name of Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “Uhh, I didn’t call. Go back and lie down.”

So Samuel went and laid back down… and then he heard someone calling him again. He ran out to Eli. “Here I am; you called me.”

And again Eli said, “No, I did not call. Go back and lie down.”

This whole thing happened a third time. And then Eli realized that it was the Lord speaking to Samuel. Eli told him, “If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

When Samuel was called again, he said those words, and that is when God revealed to Him the call He was trying to place on him earlier.

I love this story because I think it gives a great illustration of what calling actually means… not what culture says it means or what the world says it means, but what it actually means.

First of all, there is so much information out there in the world today that it seems we want to turn to what we think is certain. In fact, there is so much information that it seems the Word of God is rare. In this story of Samuel, it says the same thing. We want certainty. We want timeliness. We want answers.

It’s almost like we want God to be like Siri.

Uh, God, can I have this?

Umm, God, can you fix that?

Hey, God, I really want this.

God, give me money.

God, give me followers.

God, help them to like me.

But what if instead of looking at God like He’s Siri, we look at God as our Savior?

What if instead of looking at Him as a resource, we looked at Him as a relationship?

Here’s the thing with a relationship… it can’t just be one sided. It can’t be you asking for the things you want in your life. For the things you need to have in order to be happy in your life. For the season that you need to be in. For the job promotion you need to get. For the number of followers you need to have.

No.

Relationships require listening. And you can’t hear what God has to tell you if you’re not willing to sit at His feet and listen.

How do you listen, you ask? You get into the Word. You shut up. You set the demands aside. You serve in the season that you’re in. He’s got you there for a reason.

God is not hiding away from you when you’re calling out to Him. He is listening. He is there. But sometimes… we can get so busy with yelling out to Him and talking to Him about what we want that we forgot to shut up and listen. We tell Him all the things we want to see in our lives.

We want more.

We want to be more.

We want to do more.

But if we would just get in the Word and let Him put things on our hearts without demanding what we think He wants for us, maybe we’d get our answer.

So stop trying to find your calling. Seek God, and your calling will find you.

He will lead you into a purpose-filled life. He will lead you into the various seasons. He will give you freedom. He will call you and pick up the phone no matter how many times you try to block him.

GOD IS NOT GOING TO GIVE UP ON YOU.

Look at Samuel. It took Him three times to finally get it right. Don’t be discouraged.

God’s got you here in this moment for a reason. He’s working in your life. He hasn’t given up on you. And He never will.

Delight yourself in Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart. He will show you the desires of your heart. So take heart, my friend. He’s leading you right where He wants you. Serve in this season. Listen. Dive into the Word. Stop trying to find your calling. Let Him bring it to you.