Embrace Your Calling
Rolling green fields surrounded either side of the road, and a bluebird sky stretched above me. They were cabbage fields, not my favorite vegetable, but as a landscape, beautiful to observe. I marveled at the hands and tools that planted and nurtured them and the faithful sun shining. God stirred in my heart, reminding me of all the needs of people he holds dear in his heart.
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” Matthew 9:35-38 NIV
Like working in the fields, am I supposed to feel overwhelmed with pressure to do all the work of people’s hearts by myself? No, I only do my part with help from the Holy Spirit with my gifts of encouragement and teaching. You also have specific ways to share Jesus’ love and help with the harvest. Jeremiah recorded his calling to build the Lord’s Kingdom:
The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
The Lord called Jeremiah before he was even born. God’s desires for him were exact. We, too, are chosen by the Lord for specific callings and ways to minister to others. Don’t miss the hope in this verse for you, too—before God formed you in the womb, he knew you. You have the choice to accept his gift and acknowledge his plans for you extend beyond what you can ask or imagine. You have a unique way of expressing and sharing the Lord with others. As Paul says, describing the body of Christ, “but in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (1 Corinthians 12:18 NIV).
As you embrace your wiring and calling, you partner with the Lord to do his good work and build his kingdom one life at a time. We all have the same unifying mission to glorify Jesus, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV One of the most significant callings in this life is to be workers of the harvest. Jesus used this agricultural metaphor to explain the abundance of people’s need for his healing and hope. And it is the Father’s design that we get to help bring others to meet Jesus with compassion.
In conclusion, as we are united in Christ, rooted in his love, we can live out our diverse calling to be workers for the harvest. This week, I pray that you may be established in Christ’s firm foundation of love. From there, may you notice where the Lord is prompting you to reach out to those in your family, neighborhood, church, or friends across the globe.
CALL TO ACTION:
Meditate on Matthew 9:35-38. How has God created you to help with the harvest?
What is one thing you can do this week to walk out your gifting?
