[For it is He] Who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness [to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness]; [He did it] not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further His own purpose and grace (unmerited favor) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago]. [It is that purpose and grace] which He now has made known and has fully disclosed and made real [to us] through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospel. - 2 Timothy 1:9-10 (AMP).
Through Jesus Christ we have received much more than salvation! God the Father, has prepared for each of us, a "holy calling" through which He desires for us to live a pure and sinless life, different from the life of those in the world, and similar to the life Jesus lived on earth. In Jesus we have received amazing favor, which none of us could ever deserve and a life with a precise purpose.
Before of the foundation of the world, God decided that His Son would die for our sins and rise from the dead, destroying the power of death for all who would believe on Him and live according to His will, fulfilling the Gospel. Jesus is the true life, the only way to the Father and the only truth.
For each of us, there is at least one area that we feel attracted to. If you do not know the calling that God has prepared for your life, it is time to ask Him to show you. In all creation, there are not two identical people or two identical lives. That is why, even if many of us have received the same calling, there is always room in this world for every single one of us to excel at whatever it is, bringing glory to the Lord and helping expand His kingdom. God does everything perfect, and He knows why He has called each one of us to a certain job or ministry.
GOD HAS A PERFECT PLAN AND CALLING FOR EACH OF US
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. - Psalms 55:22
The Lord has prepared a plan and a calling for every single one of us. Whatever He has called us to do, might seem hard or difficult, but as long as we learn to truly give it to Him, He will sustain us. We can give it to the Lord, by trusting Him to make a way when needed, give us the right solutions, step by step, and be able to go to sleep at night instead of worrying about how to make things work.
As long as we love our Lord and keep our hearts pure, by loving to be obedient, pleasing God and sincerely repenting when we sin, we have Jesus’ righteousness. Our righteousness is a gift received by faith in Christ. God promises to sustain us, as long as we are cleansed by Jesus’ blood, because we want to be His and that He will not allow anything to remove us from Him! Hallelujah!
“FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU; I HAVE CALLED YOU BY YOUR NAME; YOU ARE MINE”
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” - Isaiah 43:1
We, the Gentiles, are adopted into God’s people, through faith in Jesus Christ. This means that what God promised to the Jews in the Old Testament is true for us too. God not only loves all people, but He knows each of us by name! There is so much comfort in knowing that God’s love is personal and intimate for each of us. To call someone by name, in eastern countries, such as Israel, is a sign of a close relationship and tender love.
We should live free of fear, because God loves each of us individually. He knows everything about every single one of us, including how many hairs we have on our heads (Matthew 10:30). Jesus was actually saying that, God knows us better than we know ourselves. I for sure do not know how many hairs are on my head. Do you? But our Father does. The Creator of the whole universe loves you, calls you by name and also His own! All of us that received Jesus as Lord, are redeemed with His blood and God has set us apart for Himself.
God encourages the faithful to fear anything but trust Him as He knows all about us and is always there for us.
GOD HAS A PURPOSE AND A CALLING FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. - 2 Timothy 1:9
God’s purpose in creating the Universe and mankind is to have a people that are truly His and will spend eternity in heaven with Him. The way we live while on this earth, determines where we will spend eternity. The Lord delivered, saved and prepared a calling for each of us that leads to a life set apart for Him, with the purpose to fulfill His will. The Lord wants us to surrender it all to Him, depend on Him in every area of life and give Him the glory that He deserves.
The reason God did all of this for us is not because of something we did or any personal merit. If any of us could save himself, Jesus would not have to die in our place. In His amazing grace, the Lord saved and called us for His purpose, to have us with Him now and for eternity. God decided to offer us His amazing and undeserved favor, in His Son, Jesus Christ, before He created the earth and universe.
GOD WANTS US TO HAVE HOPE IN THE FUTURE HE HAS PREPARED FOR US
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11
God wants what is best for us, even more than we do, and if we allow Him to rule our lives, He will use everything we go through, to prepare us for heaven (Romans 8:28).
A new year is a new beginning, with new challenges and new successes or failures. Have you ever considered that what seems to be a failure when it happens, might become a success after a period of time? Every single one of us have lived through situations that were almost impossible to accept at first, only to realize later, as we started to consider all the factors and circumstances, that what happened was for our benefit in the long run. There is so much that we cannot control, but we can choose how we respond to it!
For most of us, our jobs are very important and are the main cause of many of our problems and stress. However, in some cases, the fear of losing a job can be consuming and make it hard to hear God’s voice. If it really happens that one loses their job, it may seem to be a disaster, but God can use it as a “springboard” for a better job, with better pay and less stress; it might also be a turning point, as we might find out that we were created by God for a totally different profession than the one we had chosen, worked and prepared for. And after all the changes, going to work might become a blessing instead of a burden.
Once we learn to turn our worrying thoughts into prayers to God and we study the Bible on a daily basis, everything changes. The Bible teaches us what God likes and dislikes, what His promises are and how to solve the problems we face in the right way. Once we grow in knowing God and His will, any new issues that come our way will seem smaller and easier to deal with. If we have a thankful heart and we have faith in God’s love, protection and help, we will handle all of life’s hardships in a better way.