Craig Clouston

 

A Godly Calling

March 6

All the days for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16

Harmon had achieved every goal set before him. He’d excelled in everything he’d done in High School graduated and Valedictorian of his class. He’d earned a degree in medicine, graduating Alpha chi and Magna cum laude from one of the nation’s most prestigious universities. Harmon was driven…and Harmon was miserable.

Harm’s parents, while well-intentioned, had expectations of their son. They had recognized he was blessed with rare intelligence, and had embarked on finding out what he was capable of. But they had never seriously included Harm in their discussions regarding his ambitions. They had simply decided he should put such knowledge to use as a surgeon, and would be satisfied in that profession.

But he, more than anything, had wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement. He wanted to work in the cyber-crimes unit, using his intelligence to ferret out online predators and the like. He wanted to make the electronic world a safer place. He’d tried talking to his parents several times, but they’d shut him down, assuring him there was no money in law enforcement and becoming a surgeon was preferable to catching criminals. They had assured him, “You will be revered by your peers!”

Sadly, Harm’s true calling was never fulfilled.

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We are each endowed with specific God-ordained gifts…created to find fulfillment in the use of them. Unfortunately, and for myriad reasons, our true gifting can go undiscovered and un-nurtured because the world’s approach to achievement and perception of success get in the way.

Our parents do the best they can with the information they have to work with. Yet sometimes, they miss-read God’s gifting; especially if they don’t walk closely with Him.

Psalm 139 speaks of how intimately God knows each of us. In such intimacy there is knowledge that far surpasses our own. God alone knows what He created us to do. Obtaining employment outside His true calling isn’t necessarily sin; neither is it His perfect plan or will.

To receive His best we must look to Him for direction. It’s never too late to do that.

Prayer

“LORD, help me realize my potential in the gifting and field You have placed on my life, then assist me in using them for Your Kingdom. Amen.”