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Work. Toil. Drudgery. Effort. Task. Chore. Grind.

There’s plenty of ways we communicate it, but there’s something we don’t like about the idea of a job.

Think back to your first job, possibly in fast food or at the mall or even landscaping. Or maybe just after graduation, when you began what you hoped would be a career. Whether you found yourself in the service industry, or the tech industry, or ministry work, the initial joy of having a job didn’t take long to fade.

Soon enough, merely having a job doesn’t satisfy. We want something more. We want to advance, to grow, to make a mark. Some of us begin developing an advancement plan, a series of steps to help us turn our job into a career. We look for ways to make what we do more essential to who we are.

But the answer to what we’re seeking is found in the reverse: we need to make who we are more essential in what we do. We need to shift from chasing a career to following a calling.

A calling is like finding your why—the reason you exist, your purpose for living. When you find your why, you find your wings and eventually you find your way—you know what moves to make and when to make them.

Calling isn’t dependent on a certain type of job—your why could have you employed anywhere from McDonald’s to Apple to H&R Block—because it depends on a certain type of willingness.

In the New Testament, we read about the first disciples of Jesus leaving their jobs as fishermen to follow him. They were willing to trade in their work to learn His way. But three years later, after Jesus’ death, they reluctantly returned to the seas and their fishing nets, and it didn’t get off to a great start. After a night of fruitless fishing, they were stunned when a mysterious figure called out to them with some advice about where to place their nets. With nothing to lose, they moved their nets—and hauled in a massive catch of fish.

Quickly, the disciples realized who it was on the shore: Jesus! Knowing who it was, Peter decided he wouldn’t waste another moment on that boat. Though he had just raised up one of the biggest payloads in his career, Peter left it all to jump in the water and swim to Jesus—to his calling as an apostle, preacher, and New Testament author.

While your calling isn’t exactly the same as Peter’s, the truth is God still has something for you to do, something that fills you with passion, purpose, and motivation. It’s your reason for living, and you won’t feel alive until you’ve embraced it.

Obeying your calling will require growth and sacrifice. Just read the book of Acts and consider Peter’s journey as God’s called apostle. From persecution, to imprisonment, to dying a martyr’s death, Peter clearly would’ve had a much simpler life had he remained merely a fisherman.

But simple doesn’t satisfy like significance does. That’s why, in the final verse of his second letter, Peter wrote, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

Clearly, Peter had no regrets for following his calling.

And neither will you.

Questions to ask yourself:

What satisfaction and rewards have you found in your individual jobs or careers? How might these be less rewarding than the satisfaction and rewards you would find in a calling?

Where in life have you found the most satisfaction and fulfillment? How could this either change or enhance your career?

To read more concerning the shift from career to calling, read John C. Maxwell’s book Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace, click here.