Are you seeking God's will for your life? If yes - then you are not alone. It seems that many people, regardless of nation, language, gender or age, are looking for the answer to this question. They have a longing to find and fulfill God's will for their lives. It is something that was put into every human being before birth and is waiting to be discovered.
After God spoke to Johann in early 2022 that we should stop serving as youth leaders immediately, we were initially confused. We had just returned from Costa Rica, had both discovered the gospel in a way we never had before and were on fire to share our revelations. We had never sought to stop this ministry. Rather the opposite. At first we thought that this could not have been God's voice. However, after the same call came again and that already replacements were being prepared, we were ready to stop occupying the place of the called ones. Afraid of the reaction of quitting so abruptly and also simply lacking trust in God's plan, we put our own timeline into God's order. This led to many unnecessary problems and misunderstandings.
It was evident to us that God had taken us out of the ministry because He had prepared something else. And we want to live in the will of God. That's how we ended up in Woodland Park, USA. In this blog post, we'll take you through a part of how God prepared us for our future calling.
«If identity in Christ is our goal and not the vision or calling God has for us, and our motivation is to love people before we do «jobs» for God, we can build a lifestyle that is rewarding and fulfilling to find God's will for our lives.»
We realized that in the past we were more concerned with what God's vision is for our lives than with our identity in Christ. Thus, we were always looking for a ministry or task that would fulfill us. It was also veiled from us for a long time that the purpose for which we were created and the vision or calling for our lives are two different things.
To fulfill God's call for our lives, we must first understand God's purpose for us. Every created thing and every word of God has a divine purpose. When that purpose is understood, we can cooperate with it for our benefit. If we do not understand the purpose of a thing, we misuse it or lose its usefulness. Motivated by performance, we cannot do anything to prove something to ourselves, get something from God or earn God's love. God is not primarily interested in us doing tasks or services for Him. God, our Creator, is our husband (Isaiah 54:5) who loves us and He is not a slave master, scientist or someone who experiments on us. It is His desire to give His bride (His church or body) more than enough - an abundance that surpasses anything His bride could ever ask or even imagine asking for. Not because we serve Him through tasks or ministries or because we please Him with our obedience, but solely because He loves you and me unconditionally and loves to care for us. Because He wants to have a relationship with us. It is a relationship that is not based on works, but on love! This is also the difference with religions, among other things. Religion will never allow us to get to a place where we are constantly well or where it will ever be enough. Christ made a perfect sacrifice for us so that we can come back into a relationship with Him and rest in HIM. If we truly understood what Jesus did on the cross and that He changed everything with His death and resurrection, that understanding would transform our lives. When God sent Jesus into the world, it was so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16). And this doesn't just mean that we will have eternal life after our physical death, but that we will be drawn into a deep and intimate relationship with Him. «And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Joh 17,: (ESV)» Here we are talking about the fact that eternal life consists of knowing the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. Because according to the Bible, relationships are primarily about giving and not receiving. In our relationship with God, He has already given everything and we respond in faith.
David asked God a question in Psalm 8:3-7 and received also an answer. Mankind was created just a little lower than God. According to David, God sees a glorious, majestic, worthy, valuable human being living on this planet to rule with compassion over all of His creation. God created us for His pleasure and to give us His kingdom. In the new covenant we are a child of God through and in Christ and through that we can know God. This in turn means that if you are born again and live a grateful life in reverence for God, your destiny is fulfilled! Out of this purpose and identity, we are equipped, empowered and free to follow our calling as a new creation and not as an obligation we must fulfill for God.
If we live out of our identity in HIM, we will align our decisions and our lives according to who we are and not according to what we should do!
Finding God's calling on one's life puts many Jesus followers on the path to burnout. Many people experience guilt, shame and confusion because they don't know what the true meaning of God's purpose for them is. Calling is not something we achieve, it is more a part of who we are. The more we are rooted in our new creation identity as an adopted child of God, the better we will hear, obey and follow God more than we can ever imagine. Talent is not the basis for our calling - nor is it based on our performance, qualifications or what we are good at. The purpose of our life is to know and love God. And then we can love people because God's love will overflow in our lives. When we understand God's heart and purpose for our existence, we can be at rest in HIM at all times. From there, we are then free to willingly participate in the callings God has for us.
Over the last few years, we have also learned that it is dangerous when the vision or calling from God becomes the heartbeat for the ministry that is being carried out. Sooner or later, when we face obstacles, this leads to great difficulties and identity crises in our lives. If we only burn for God because we are doing a service for HIM, we have missed the real and important point. Service for HIM does not determine our value. Don't get us wrong here, vision is an important part of ministry or business, but it is not the heartbeat. The heartbeat of the vision comes from your and my personal and intimate relationship with God. And that's super important as God has been speaking to us specifically over the last year and a half.
What does it mean to fulfill a ministry?
Ministry is our relationship to and with God that leads to an abundance that impacts others.
Overflow is when your heart has been transformed into God's heart (Ps. 37:4)
Your vision or calling will be this overflow
The overflow will look different for each individual
No one's overflow is more important than someone else's
The fulfillment of our calling is the fruit of our new creation identity in Christ.
If all believers, with their own unique callings and roles, live out their identity in Christ, the world will see a healthy Christian body.
Do not feel left out here if you do not yet have a clear revelation about your calling: A calling becomes visible in lots of different dimensions.
There is so much more to this subject. As already mentioned, this short blog post is just intended to lay the foundation for our second testimonial. Because on October 19, 2023, we received confirmation of our vision or calling for our life as a family. See you in the next blog post. 😉
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