Vocation Direction – A Light for College Students
Pastor Dean Weaver, the new Interim Dean of the Chapel for Grove City College gave a sermon this past semester discussing vocations for the students here at the college. Vocation is quite a hot topic in college because at the heart of figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives, remains our God and His plans for us. While scripture gives us the Cultural Mandate, a command to cultivate and procreate, it does not tell each and every one of us the exact path for our future job and role in life God has in store for us. Through our work we glorify God, but what should do to glorify the Lord? During the sermon, Pastor Weaver encouraged the students to prayerfully ask God to give each one of us the “eye of faith to see what God is calling you to.”
I have since visited Pastor Weaver to further dive into this topic. He gave me five steps in which we can journey with the Lord to discover our vocation. They are as follows:
- Ask, “What does God want me to do?”
- Pray earnestly and journal this path, contemplating, “How do you feel God is directing you? What are the struggles that you are facing? What successes are you having?”
- Talk to people who know you. God speaks through His Word (infallibly), but also through others and the circumstances that we go through.
- Once you think you have decided, make the decision. This is sometimes the hardest part, but ask “Does what I want to do glorify God?”
- Finally, after the fact, did what you want to do happen? If it did, that is how you know that it was God’s Will
While college students would love God to come down and tell us clearly and succinctly what we need to do with our lives and the paths that we need to take to get there, we most likely won’t get that. What really struck me from our conversation was when he repeated to me, “God’s Will is different than God’s timing.” After reflecting on Mark 5, Pastor Weaver explained that Jesus is not subject to time because time is a human invention.
Thus, God isn’t in a hurry. This concept applies to many aspects of our lives, but especially when discovering our vocation. God doesn’t wait until we have your job to use us, rather, He is using us at all times, including now. He wants us to slow down, trust him. There might be something that he wants us to learn, grow, or help others do the same. If we must take a gap year or another job in the meantime before our dream, so be it. Be still and wait, know God is in control.