Are “calling” and “destiny” just overhyped youth ministry buzzwords?

Lizzaeh
Lizzaeh
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

How many of us grew up in youth ministry being sold the idea that we were going to do life-changing, earth-shaking exploits for God? That destiny and calling came with a great amount of swag, street cred, and enough salvations and healing miracles to make Christianity cool again?

And how many of us have since grown up into young adults, exhausted office workers, struggling parents who would rather zone out and Netflix than read the Bible. Play one more round of whatever mobile game last caught our attention than reach out across WhatsApp to ask a friend how they’re doing.

We tend to fall into either category: going about our daily lives, believing that we’re going to change the world… All I need is the right person to notice how brilliant and anointed I am, any day now.

Or maybe you’re on the other side where you’ve given up and concluded that you were sold false marketing — 10/10 would not purchase again, 1-star Amazon review. Let’s just go back to paying our mortgages and supporting a young family. Who’s got time for calling and destiny?

By now, you must be thinking that this is a disillusioned cynic’s rant on the overhyped youth ministry dream, ten years later. But stay with me.

Yes, like many of my peers, the grind of daily life often looks vastly different from what we’ve been sold from the platform.

And yes, some of our peers do end up becoming very visible church leaders. But they are a handful in a youth ministry where we grew up in the hundreds and thousands. So what happens to the rest of us that don’t become pastors, platform people, and the ones whose lives are conspicuously, visibly celebrated for “making a difference”?

I guess my question to you today is: who told you impact and success had to be measured by visibility? When did we start believing that calling and destiny is only stepped into when you stand on a stage and preach to innumerable crowds? Or when you gain enough followers to call yourself a social media influencer?

We are so enamored by the idea of reaching everyone, that we forget that reaching the world starts with ONE.

Why do we measure success by how a big a crowd we can draw, when we ourselves want to be the ONE that God draws to in a crowd?

Are calling and destiny found only in the grandeur of large platforms, or in the quiet moments you have with different ONES in your life?

And if your platform starts with the seemingly mundane and normal things in life, why should that be any less?

Your marriage, the decisions you make every day that your children are watching, the conduct and honor with which you bring to your workplace, finally meeting that one friend whom the Lord keeps placing on your heart, buying tissue paper from the hawker uncle… Living with a sense of the largeness of God’s generosity and love — that by His supply, you can extend love to others too. Is this calling any lesser?

I challenge you to redefine what calling and destiny looks like for yourself today. We have countless opportunities to reach others, ONE life at a time.

And who knows. It doesn’t mean your calling and destiny will always remain the same in different seasonsBut the path to greatness starts with what’s in your hands, today, right now. Who’s in your world, today, right now.

And may we never despise and consider that any less great than the glamor of a stage.

Lizzaeh

Written by

Lizzaeh

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