{"id":7326,"date":"2015-07-14T19:51:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T23:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=7326"},"modified":"2015-07-12T19:51:44","modified_gmt":"2015-07-12T23:51:44","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html","title":{"rendered":"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"arms\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What does it mean to be called by God? Too often we think this means we need to work in a\u00a0\u00a0ministry or \u00a0church. But calling is something every person of faith must embrace.<\/p>\n

First and foremost is to understand that vocation and calling are the same. In his helpful book, The Call<\/em>, author Os Guinness reminds us that most of us long to fulfill a purpose in life bigger than ourselves and want to operate with meaning and purpose. To work and move in such purpose requires us to understand that God calls us first to himself, and out of that calling comes everything else.<\/p>\n

Calling and vocation are not separate. Whether our calling is to be the best mother possible or the CEO of a corporation, the central focus of our calling is to God first. Calling centers us and is more than being and doing because it also involves becoming all that God intended. Whether you work in a secular or religious setting is irrelevant. Knowing your call, no matter where you operate, gives meaning to work.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Do What You Are<\/em><\/p>\n

Related to calling, always be who you are and act in accordance with the giftings God has given you. In our culture, we often allow jobs to define us. But Guinness says that instead of becoming what we do, we are to do what we are<\/em>.<\/p>\n

God has given us gifts to be used in the service to others. We steward those gifts through the work God provides and calls us to do. C.S. Lewis says it this way, \u201cThe more we get what we now call \u2018ourselves\u2019 out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.\u201d<\/p>\n

What God leads me to do may not be the same for you. So comparing yourself to others and acting as if there is one path to fulfill the call of God in your life is narrow thinking and not wise. Each of us is unique and need to focus on who we are and allow God to lead us accordingly.<\/p>\n

So embrace who you are and where God has placed you. You are called first to Him and out of that call everything else flows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does it mean to be called by God? Too often we think this means we need to work in a\u00a0\u00a0ministry or \u00a0church. But calling is something every person of faith must embrace. First and foremost is to understand that vocation and calling are the same. In his helpful book, The Call, author Os Guinness…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[3328,1101,3329,346],"class_list":["post-7326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-calling","tag-god-relationship-2","tag-meaning-and-purpose","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does it Mean to Be Called of God?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What does it mean to be called by God? Too often we think this means we need to work in a\u00a0\u00a0ministry or \u00a0church. But calling is something every person of faith must embrace. First and foremost is to understand that vocation and calling are the same. In his helpful book, The Call, author Os Guinness…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-14T23:51:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-07-12T23:51:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/arms-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?","og_description":"What does it mean to be called by God? Too often we think this means we need to work in a\u00a0\u00a0ministry or \u00a0church. But calling is something every person of faith must embrace. First and foremost is to understand that vocation and calling are the same. In his helpful book, The Call, author Os Guinness…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2015-07-14T23:51:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-07-12T23:51:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/arms-300x199.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html","name":"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/arms-300x199.jpg","datePublished":"2015-07-14T23:51:22+00:00","dateModified":"2015-07-12T23:51:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/arms-300x199.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/arms-300x199.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/07\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-called-of-god.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Does it Mean to Be Called of God?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7327,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions\/7327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}