What if the very thing you’re connected to right now was never from God to begin with? And what if the life you’ve always longed for wasn’t out of reach at all, but hidden in plain sight, waiting for you to finally recognize it? Most people don’t regret the risks they took. They regret the what ifs they never pursued.
I learned this the hard way during my junior year of high school, when I took a dishwashing job at a busy restaurant in downtown Boston. In my mind, it was the simplest job on earth: wash the dishes, collect the paycheck, go home and eat snacks. That was the whole dream. But forty-five minutes into my first shift, my supervisor walked into the kitchen and said, “Ron, I need you to bus those tables out front.”
For a minute, I genuinely wondered if “bus” was some kind of professional restaurant code I had somehow missed during orientation. At my house, nobody “bussed” anything… we barely kept our rooms clean. I followed him to the kitchen door anyway, trying to look confident, but inside I was falling apart. He pointed to a couple of empty tables covered in dirty plates and half-finished drinks. “Take those dishes and bring them back here to wash.”
That’s when it hit me: he expected me to go out there… into a dining room full of people who were sitting, watching, judging, and breathing. My pride and teenage dignity were on the line. It didn’t matter that clearing tables was part of the job. In my mind, walking out there to pick up someone’s half-eaten mashed potatoes felt less like employment and more like punishment.
So I did what any entitled sixteen-year-old would do. I sat down in front of the dishwasher, stared at my supervisor… then at my backpack… then back at him. And before he could say another word, I stood up, removed my apron, grabbed my bag, and walked out of the restaurant like I had never been there at all. I quit one hour into my first job. Looking back, I can admit that God might have been trying to teach me humility, and I absolutely failed the assignment.
Back then, I didn’t realize God was using even moments like that to shape how I understood His calling.
All throughout Scripture, nobody called themselves. Moses wasn’t campaigning for leadership; he was tending sheep. David was the youngest, overlooked by everyone except God. Jeremiah tried to talk God out of choosing him. Their assignments didn’t come from their dreams or their plans. They came from a divine interruption that revealed purpose they couldn’t have invented themselves.
When God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I set you apart,” He was reminding us that our calling comes before our desires. Purpose existed before we even had an opinion about our own lives.
It’s easy to confuse passion with purpose. Passion feels exciting... it makes your heart race. Purpose is different. It lasts, even when everything else is changing, and it keeps you grounded. So we have to be honest with ourselves: Did God really call me to this, or did I just choose it because it felt good, looked right, or made sense at the time?
Sometimes we mistake opportunity for calling. Just because a door opens doesn’t mean God opened it. People can open doors. Impatience can push them open. Our own talent can convince us to walk through. But a true calling feels different. It carries a grace that doesn’t fade and a peace that doesn’t disappear when the pressure hits.
Look at Jonah… purpose didn’t push him forward, it chased him down. That’s often how a true assignment works: it keeps finding you. You can ignore it, try to outrun it, or argue with God about it, but you can’t escape what He already wrote with your name on it. Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
When we try to do something God never called us to, we burn out fast. Assignments we give ourselves drain us. Assignments God gives us actually give us strength. Trying to work outside your calling is like running a marathon in shoes that don’t fit, you can push through, but eventually, your body will make you face the truth.
A true calling always points back to God, not you.It doesn’t make you bigger… it makes God bigger through you. It shows people His character, His heart, His wisdom, and His love. When your calling starts feeling more like a spotlight on you than a chance to serve, that’s usually a sign it came from your own ambition, not God’s plan. Real callings always leave room for God to get the glory, not the person carrying the assignment.
If you’re wondering whether you’ve been walking in a God-call or a self-call, here are a few simple questions to sit with:
Is there grace for what I’m doing, or am I forcing it?
Do I feel peace deep down, even in the struggle?
Do I see God’s fingerprints, or just my effort?
Did this start with His voice, or my idea?
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.”(John 10:27) His voice doesn’t confuse or manipulate. It leads.
You don’t need all the answers today. Be honest with God and yourself. If you stepped into what He didn’t call you to, He’s not punishing you, He’s guiding you back to the path He set for you, the one with His grace where you can be fully yourself.
So the real question isn’t just: Did God call you?
The deeper question is: Are you ready to go where He’s calling now?
Before you move on with your day, ask God one honest question: “Lord, is this You calling me… or am I calling myself?” Then pause and listen. Let Him answer. Don’t rush it, don’t force it.
Pray with me
Father God,
Speak clearly to my heart. Show me where You are calling me, and give me the courage to follow. Close every door that wasn’t opened by You, and strengthen me for the assignment You made with my name on it.
