It’s mind-blowingly crazy to me that life whirls by in a blink of an eye. It feels like it was only yesterday I was fresh faced, doe-eyed, fresh out of high school and getting ready for college. Nothing floated my boat more than a good meet-cute story, listening to Taylor Swift for hours and spending time laughing with my friends. Now I am waking up to neck wrinkles?! OK…. I might be over-exaggerating here, but seriously! Name a single girl past the age of twenty-one who actually likes to celebrate getting older.

But with age, wisdom comes. (At least one would hope!) And with every year that comes and goes, I realise more and more what it means when God calls you to do something.

It makes me smile to think back to even a few years ago when I thought that the way to know when God was calling you to do something was by hearing an audible voice like a boom box telling me. Or a supernatural sign via dreams or a grand vision confirming a decision. But no voices ever came out, no dreams ever came and no undeniable vision arrived either.

For a while, it confused me.

How was I supposed to know if God was calling me to do something?

Discerning God’s voice was a confusing journey to walk down. It took A LOT of wrestling on my part (what can I say? 😉 I’m a little bit of a fighter!), but thank goodness for a patient Father! But here is what I have learned about how we can tell if God is calling us to do something…

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How Do You Know if God is Calling You to Do Something

#1 How to Know if God is Calling You to Do Something: Through Scripture

The primary way to know when God calls you to do something is through His Word. The primary way God commands us is through His Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). If there is something in Scripture that specifically commands something of us, there is really no more need to hum and har, wondering if it is really God’s will for us.

How awesome is it that He loves you so much that He created your very own written guide to life? You might also know this guide as something called the Bible! We can trust and believe that God will never give you a calling that contradicts with Himself, so He will never ask you to do something that contradicts with the Bible. God will never call you to do something that makes you sin.

Now, you might be thinking the following: “But how about the things that aren’t clearly stated in the Bible such as what I should study, who I should date and if I should buy a house?”

Well! Let’s look at this case study…

Jackie loves Paul. She feels like he is the one for her. Not only is he a strong Christian who is vocal about his love for the Lord, he‘s tall, dark and handsome! Jackie and Paul get on really well. They are incredibly good friends and spend hours at a time chatting about matters of the heart and of faith. But they have never crossed that boundary of friendship. She is confused if God is calling her to be with Paul. In so many ways, they are so superbly suited to one another. He is an aspiring missionary and she has a big heart for missions. He is a youth leader, she is a kids leader. She finds herself distracted, spending hours each day wondering, pining and praying about whether or not God is calling her to be with Paul.

Even if the situation isn’t romance-related, there is a lesson to be taken away from here. Not all things that we try and discern is something that is obviously ‘evil’. Falling in love is a good and beautiful thing. But even something that God created for our joy and His glory can be tainted with sin by us. When our desire for a relationship overrides our love for our Creator, we are sinning. We are worshipping an idol… a commandment that God tells us specifically not to do (Exodus 20:3).

Even if the action by itself is not evil, the heart’s intention makes it so. To find out whether or not something is God’s calling, seek to immerse yourself in Scripture. This way, you can prayerfully reflect on your heart’s posture and see whether or not it meets God’s standards. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth: meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything that is written in it” (Joshua 1:8).

Knowing Scripture and being prayerfully aware of not only your actions but your heart’s intent is key to knowing when God calls you to do something!

#2 How to Know if God is Calling You to Do Something: Through Prayer

How else do you know if God is calling you to do something?

We should spend time in communication with our Lord and our Maker. It is important to pray when you are unsure about what God’s calling for your life is. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

One thing we need to get straight about prayer is this…

God doesn’t actually need us to pray to Him in order to know what is on our hearts. He is an omnipotent God after all. He knows your every thought without you needing to say a word. Rather, He so graciously gifted us with the blessing of prayer so that He can reveal to us His will through prayer. Prayer is for our benefit.

So many times, I have cried out “Father”. In moments that I have felt lost, lonely and afraid, through prayer to Him, God showed me no condemnation. Instead, He not only lovingly convicted me, but brought peace to my heart over decisions that had my heart feeling troubled. When God calls you to do something, you can find out whether or not that ‘something’ is from Him through prayer. This is because prayer is a gift given by God to us to shed light on our hearts and the situations that we find ourselves in.

The best part is, when we know Scripture, and we pray, genuinely seeking God’s will, His voice through His Word reveals itself to us through prayer. How amazing is our Creator’s communication!

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But Be Really Careful Not to Fall into This Trap…

Whoop-whoop! We are almost at the end of the blog post! No sad emojis please:) But, before we leave and go on our merry way today, let’s talk about something…

Before I start though, I want you to know how much I love you. I pray that you may know that I say this not from a place of condescension. I say this because my heart breaks for those who might not know this truth, because I once was there too.

The dangerous trend today is where people desire to hear a “word from God” outside of what He has already given to us in Scripture. There is a large party of experience-driven Christianity where the gospel is watered down and dressed up in flashy outfits. The Word of God is a simple yet powerful thing. It doesn’t need extra revelations to be added onto it. So when you try looking for signs that God is trying to tell you something, this can lead to a lot of confusion and strife.

Unfortunately, in today’s experience seeker’s world, so many of us look for a supernatural revelation through the means of visions, dreams and other signs and wonders. While it is certainly not out of God’s hand to be able to reveal to us things in this way, this is NOT something that we should come to expect as standard practice.

This is for two major reasons…

1. When one person claims receiving external revelations while another person does not seem to receive any, it causes the latter to doubt scriptural truths that God loves him/her. They wonder why others seem to be ‘connected’ to God in these experiences, but they are not. They begin to believe that their relationship with God is not as strong and consequently, begin to fall into the trap that they are either not saved or do not have the Holy Spirit in them.
2. When we rely on external revelations, we find ourselves in the midst of chaos because what He “tells” one person often contradicts what He “tells” another. This causes a lot of disharmony and dissension amongst believers because disagreements are created when one person’s supernatural ‘experience’ tries to take precedence over another’s.

And for this reason, I pray that if this is you, to know how much God loves you and that with the overwhelming authority of the Word of God, you are not alone.

My Encouragement for You Who Seeks to Know God’s Calling

When God calls you to do something, you don’t have to be afraid! You can be encouraged by His never-ending presence and His never-wavering love for you. You can be strong and courageous and not be terrified nor discouraged because no matter where you go, your Lord and God will be with you no matter where you go (Joshua 1:9).

Once you have prayed and sought answers through Scripture, step boldly into the choice you make. Your God is still almighty and powerful… no matter what decision you make. He still has everything under control no matter what road you go down. His sovereignty and His love for you does not change depending on the choice you decide on.

The best part of knowing when God calls you to do something is this…

Nothing that happens at the end of the day is beyond Him. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

For an in-depth bible study on Romans 8:28, check out this blog post.

Our Father, the One who created the stars, the moons and the heavens is the master Creator and with such amazing attention to detail… and the life you’re leading the situation you’re in, is not outside of His scope! So dance around the living room floors to the tune of knowing how blessed you truly are!

Click the image below for your FREE workbook on how to discern God’s voice and how to know if God wants you to do something!

Hey! Hope You Liked this Blog Post on How Do You Know if God is Calling You to Do Something…

Here Are Other Resources You Might Also Like…

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … How to Find God’s Calling for Your Life

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … Why Letting God Take Control Can Be Straight Up Hard — and What You Can Do About it!

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … How to Discern God’s Voice From Your Own

—> CLICK THE LINK TO READ … The Practical Guide to Finding Your Identity in Christ

or browse the blog HERE!

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Before You Go…

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Drop a comment below and let me know — do you have a hard time knowing when God is calling you to do something? Let’s start a discussion!

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