Confidence in CallingSample

Calling and Perseverance

So much of life is about persevering through pain and discomfort. Keeping going requires grace and grit. Indeed, the more deeply we commit to engaging in God’s mission to the world, the grittier life will become. It will also yield more treasure and beauty than we could have imagined. Pearls are formed when a piece of sand or grit becomes trapped in the shell of an oyster. The grit is an irritant and an inconvenience, but it isn’t spat out; rather it is embraced and transformed. Over time the grit becomes less abrasive and irritating because the oyster slowly coats it in mother-of-pearl. Slowly and surely a beautiful pearl is born. 

The pearl formation, like most metaphors for maturity, it can be dismissed all too quickly—our feeling brain kicks in and screams, “This is uncomfortable and I don’t like it!” If we are prepared to engage a little longer and allow our thinking brain to take over, the concept begins to lose its sense of threat. The things that become powerful and living in us are the things that we have persevered in, fought for, and embraced. The foolish, ugly, painful parts we submit to Christ and one another slowly and surely become coated in layers of grace. They become not only gifts for ourselves, but also gifts that we get to give away generously and abundantly. We are called to give ourselves away time and again.

When we accept that this is the case, we can stop using sticky plasters for wounds that require surgery. We can exchange false comforts for transformative conversations and disciplines. We can stop living in denial and face reality, confident that with God nothing is too dark, too broken, or too far gone. With God there is always a way, and he will walk with us down that path. To persevere in our calling is to embrace the fullness of this walk and to keep going.

Questions

Consider the road you are on. Will this road lead you into all that God has for you? What keeps you putting one foot in front of the other through life’s ups and downs? What are you able to give away?

Prayer

Lord God, I want to walk in step with you. Help me to keep moving at your pace and to trust that your call on my life is on track and headed in the right direction. Amen

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