Do you know your calling?

Sometimes I have occasion to talk to younger generations. From them, I hear lots of discussion around the idea of purpose, passion, and calling. They truly desire to be in the right place, at the right time, and to use all of their gifts, talents, and abilities in the right vocation.

They don’t want to miss a moment.

And they don’t want to live outside of their calling.

But with that desire for purpose, a dilemma arises. The world keeps moving forward. They’ve got classes, exams, finals that beckon. Or they’ve got jobs that require them to be on time, produce something, sell something, make something. And for what? A paycheck?

Passion and purpose beckon. They are often the illusive siren that causes us to weave through the mist and fog—only to find that the destination is still around the corner.

What’s the way out of the fog? For many, they hope the bright light from heaven will pierce through the mist and point a blazing trail forward. Their aim, with the aid of the bright light, is to say, “Aha, now I know the way to go so I will give it my all!”

But the beautiful epiphany often never arrives, and they remain in the soupy mix. Stuck.

What’s the way out?

Faithful in the Land Between

A friend of mine, Jeff Manion, wrote a book called The Land Between. He describes that future place of promise—a good land where everything seems right and good. It’s that place where we feel fully alive, fully equipped, and fully thriving.

But it’s a far place from where we came, a place of dryness, and struggle. And in the meantime, we dwell in the land between—a place not where we came from and a place not where we want to be. The land between is the land of the fog and mist, not yet at our purpose, not yet at our promise.

Jeff says it this way:

“The habits of the heart that we foster in this space—our responses and reactions—will determine whether the Land Between results in spiritual life or spiritual death. We choose.”

Put differently, it’s in that place of waiting, if we apply ourselves wholeheartedly to the moment, that determines when the bright light comes. My friend David Green says,

“While God may call us to be a king, we’ve got to be a great shepherd boy first.”

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published July 25, 2022

Topics: A Life of Faith | Lessons with Bill

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