Whether you’re just beginning your professional career or considering a change, it’s normal to wonder what job God wants you to have. Here’s how to get a better idea of the direction and calling God has for your life, and how your career can be a part of it.
Career vs. Calling
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are God’s masterpiece,” created “so we can do the good things he planned for us.” Our career can certainly be one of the good works God created us for, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
While we can certainly serve God with our careers, our true identity in this world is to follow Jesus and live like we belong to him, and we can do that in just about any career. Jesus laid out how to do that in two steps: love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40).
What Career Does God Want for Me?
To determine which career path God may be steering you toward, you want to figure out how you can love God and love others with your vocation. But it’s a little more complicated than that.
Let’s look at the career of nursing. Nurses are in a position to offer care and support to others each day—and caring for God’s creation is one way we can love God! But nursing also requires one to be good at math and science—areas we aren’t all skilled in.
The career path God wants for you is the one where you can love him and his creation the way you're designed to. So, how do we figure out God’s design for us?
Find Your “SHAPE”
Pastor Rick Warren breaks down some criteria for figuring out how God shaped you to make an impact in the world and live out his purpose for your life – a helpful concept that we’ve tweaked slightly:
Once you’ve identified each of these, you’ll have more clarity on the kind of work God created you for.
How to Use Your SHAPE to Choose a Career
Your Skills
Your skills are the things you’ve been trained to do. When thinking about your skills, ask yourself the following questions:
- What degrees or certifications do I have?
- What am I uniquely qualified to do?
Your Heart
Your heart encompasses the things you’re passionate – what you love to do. These questions can help you identify your heart:
- If money didn’t matter, what would I love to do every day?
- What activities make me feel joyful and refreshed?
Your Abilities
You can be trained in something, but not enjoy it. You can do something you enjoy but not be good at it. Think about singers—anyone can be a trained singer, and anyone can love singing, but those two things don’t make a great singer.
That's why your abilities are different—these are the things you’re gifted at doing. Gifting is where talent and passion combine. A gifted singer has both the talent and the passion for their craft. Here are some questions to help you discover your abilities:
- What do people notice that you do well?
- What comes easily to you that is difficult for others?
God gives us unique gifts and abilities – and by diving into the Bible, you can learn more about yours! Check out this Bible Reading Plan about Spiritual Gifts.
Your Personality
There are all kinds of tests and quizzes out there that can tell us something about our personality—the way God wired each of us. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, competitive or laid-back, bold or shy, God gave you a unique personality. Here are some questions to help you learn more about your personality:
- Do you prefer a quiet night in with a good book or a loud party with friends?
- Would you rather teach a class or take a class?
- Do you like to be organized or are you okay with a little chaos?
If you want to learn more about your personality, check out The Enneagram test!
Your Experiences
Whether by choice or by circumstance, your experiences help shape you into the person God made you to be. Your life experiences, whether positive or negative, can help you connect and relate with others. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your experiences:
- Looking back, what has been your favorite age so far? Why?
- If you could go back in time and do something over, what would it be?
- What was a challenging experience you had that ended up making you stronger?
Putting It All Together
Once you've answered the questions above, look for where your answers overlap. The career God is leading you toward is likely found where your skills, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences point in the same direction. From there, you can test that direction by talking to God in prayer, getting wise advice from someone you trust, and gaining some real-world experience.
Look for the overlap
Lay your answers side by side. Maybe you're trained in accounting, you light up when you help a friend get out of debt, people tell you you're patient and easy to talk to, and you've walked through a season of financial stress yourself. None of those on its own points to a clear path. Together, they might point toward financial counseling, nonprofit work, or helping small business owners manage their books.
You probably won't find a perfect match, and that's okay. The goal is a general direction you can start moving in.
Pray About It
God wants to guide you. James 1:5 promises that if you need wisdom, you can ask God, "and he will give it to you." Bring what you've discovered to him. Ask him to open doors that fit how he made you and close the ones that don't, and pay attention to where you sense his peace.
Ask People Who Know You
"Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success" (Proverbs 15:22). Share what you've learned with a few people who know you well, like a mentor, a close friend, or your Group. They can often see gifts in you that you miss, and they'll be honest when something doesn't seem like a fit.
Try It Out
You don't need everything figured out before you take a step. Volunteer, shadow someone, take a class, or pick up a side project in the field you're considering. Real-world experience will confirm what you're good at and what gives you energy—or show you it's time to adjust. Either way, you'll learn something about how God made you. As Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."
Your Career Matters—but Not as Much as You Think
While your career is an incredibly important decision, it isn’t the end-all-be-all for your life. Careers change. We may get some opportunities and be passed over for others. We are hired one day and could be fired another.
Like most things in life, our career is temporary, but our God-given purpose is constant. On your career journey, remember to keep your identity in Christ at the forefront, for we are not what we do! Our careers may change, but God’s purpose for your life never will!
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Your purpose and your career can work hand-in-hand. Check out how to serve God with your career.
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LCBC stands for Lives Changed By Christ. We are one church in multiple locations across Pennsylvania. Find the location closest to you or join us for Church Online. We can’t wait to connect with you!