The Power of Vocation
A series on 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12.
It was a moment of simple joy. You have likely experienced similar moments. Sitting on the grass in the cool shade of a tree, I bit into a fresh peach. It was perfectly ripe. I could smell its rich, fragrant aroma already, before I brought it to my mouth.
What a beautiful picture of the way God has designed every aspect of his creation. This peach had been designed in a particular way. So much effort had been made, starting with the years that the tree had put into growing so it could finally bear fruit. And now, how beautiful it was that I could enjoy the results.
As often happens, with me, my mind quickly drifted from my enjoyment of this peach to thoughts on vocation. Vocation is a powerful concept. It is, in fact, as we are told in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, a process driven intentionally and purposefully by the power of God.
Photo by Dominik Scythe on Unsplash
The life we are called to live is deeply connected to the design we have been given, by him, to express. And this design as well as the calling which accompanies it, testifies to his powerful work from start to finish. It is God who brings the process to fruition. It is he who exerts the power that matters. Our role is to lean into his design and his calling. God’s power is in the process, not just the final product. His “bringing to fruition” involves a growing fruitfulness inside us, not just through us.
I have found two practices to be particularly helpful for me as I have discovered and experienced the power of God’s calling on my life, as expressed through my vocation.
First, I have benefited greatly from a regular practice of thankfulness. It is easy for me to look at whatever fruit I see from my vocation and to begin to be proud of what “I” have accomplished. It is so important for me to keep a proper perspective. I have nothing to be proud of apart from what God has enabled me to do. At the heart of my enjoyment of who God made me to be there needs to be a constant recognition that it is not me who makes this possible. I must daily recognize and thank God for his generous work of power in my life.
Second, I continue to be challenged to maintain a spirit of contentment as God decides what fruitfulness needs to look like at various moments across my life. Contentment is foundational to the way a follower of Christ experiences vocation. We do not decide what the fruit of our vocation might be. God does. Our journey of vocation is a journey of surrender. And, in this surrender, we find peace.
May each of us experience both of these gifts today—the gift of gratefulness which provides a healthy perspective on our vocation and the gift of contentment which allows us to experience God’s powerful work in and through us as one of peace.
