When we were children, we had dreams of what we wanted to be when we grew up. Stop and think a moment about those childhood dreams. Did any of those dreams come true in your life?
Just as God gave you precious dreams as a child, He has precious dreams for your life today. No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, no matter your age, your gender, your education or lack thereof, where you live, or your qualifications, if you are willing, God will use you.
Yes, Jesus has a special mission just for you. As David Livingstone, the famous missionary to Africa, once said, “If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, why is a commission by the Heavenly King considered a sacrifice?”
Before continuing, let's pray. "Heavenly Father, give me the courage to step out of my comfort zone in whatever ways You are calling me to serve. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
We are going to explore our unique and special calling. God has a mission for your life and for mine. There is a reason why He chose us to live and serve Him now.
What Does God Know About You?
Read: Psalm 139:1–6, 13–15
- Ask Yourself: What God knows about me?
Read: Psalm 139:16 and Ephesians 2:10
- Ask Yourself: What does God have down in writing? What has He planned for you beforehand? (He has all the days of your life written down; He has good works planned for you since before you were born. He has a mission for you!)
Let’s explore who God created us to be and how we may serve Him in our own unique way now.
Discover Your God-Given Mission!
Activity: Exploring Questions to Learn Where to Serve God
Please humbly pray before you begin exploring. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Ask God to send His Holy Spirit to guide you in this process.
1. What are my spiritual gifts?
Take out a piece of paper and write out all that you think you have (read verses below). Circle your top 3–5 spiritual gifts.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4–11
- Romans 12:6–8, 13
- Ephesians 4:11, 12
- 1 Peter 4:9–11
- Exodus 31:1–5
2. When did I feel the most:
- Free—to be who God made me to be?
- Flow—to serve people I love to help and tackle issues I care about in a way that utilizes my natural gifts?
- Joy?
- Used of God?
- Positive feedback from people who responded to my service by moving toward God?
Write out three times in your life when those five things were present for you.
3. Who do I like to help?
Write out all the types/categories of people you have a heart to help. Circle the top 3–5.
4. What issues do I care about?
Write out the issues that are being neglected in your world that make you angry. Or list issues that you have a passion to address.
5. What do others see in me?
Send your answers to the last four questions to five people who have the following criteria:
- They know you well.
- They care about you.
- They walk with God.
- They have discernment.
- They will spend three days praying and reflecting on your answers and will respond to this question: “In what specific ways do you think I could best serve God with my gifts, with a focus on people and on issues I care about?”
Pray about the input these five people give you. Seek God’s wisdom from James 1:5–8. Take steps of faith to serve God in the way that He is calling you!
Live the Lord of the Harvest Prayer
Reflect on Matthew 9:35–38:
- Verse 35 – Jesus taught, proclaimed the gospel, and healed. These three went together!
- Verse 36 – Jesus saw the people and felt compassion for the crowd.
- Verse 37 – Jesus saw the harvest as plentiful but the workers as few.
- Verse 38 – Jesus tells His disciples to beg the Lord of the harvest to ekballo—that is, to hurl out workers into His harvest.
Matthew 10:16 – Jesus doesn’t just call us to pray that He will send out others into the harvest; He tells us to go ourselves! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit give us all good gifts and send us out to be fearless and faithful in His mission!
Call to Action: Hurling to the Harvest
- Share: We learned that Jesus wants to hurl us out into His harvest. He wants to throw you and me into the mission He has dreamed for us.
- Instructions: Take a piece of paper and write down an out-of-your-comfort zone mission that God might be nudging them to take. It could be witnessing to a neighbor down the street, making friends with the bully at school, or something much more daring like quitting a job and going to a faraway place to make disciples.
- Ask Yourself: “Would you like to share the out-of- your-comfort-zone mission that you just wrote and hurled into the harvest with someone else?”
- Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone, and take five minutes to surrender to Jesus privately the out-of-your-comfort-zone mission that you just wrote, asking Him to throw you out into the mission He has dreamed and planned for you before you were born!
- After five minutes, plan a time to share this out-of-your-comfort-zone mission that you just wrote and share it with someone else.
In closing, remember this:
"There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one."1
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6 ESV
- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1898), 250.
