Listening

I read something interesting today. I’ll do you the favor of reposting it here:

“The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare, which means “to call.” It suggests that you are listening for something that is calling out to you – something that is particular to you. A calling is something you have to listen for, attuning yourself to the message. Vocation then is not so much pursuing a goal as it is listening for a voice. Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen for that voice telling me who I am. Vocation does not come from willfulness but from listening.”

I found this startling. Here is someone writing about an entirely different topic than one we are concerned with on this blog and yet it appears to be incredibly apropos. The fact that most seekers I know, including myself, seem to be using seeking as an avoidance tool to life made this statement jump out at me. I’ve been struggling with this question myself, and found the above excerpt exceedingly useful. We all, to a man, long for something. And we all have to articulate and define what that something is if we have any hope of fulfilling the longing. Before you think, “I know what I want, I want X.” I ask you to consider the following questions: What have you done to listen to your calling? What have you done to discover God’s will for you? Are you pursuing this goal because of a calling or because of willfulness?