Christian college or not, the word “vocation” gets tirelessly thrown around to the point where chuckles can be heard and sarcastic grins can be seen at the sound of it. The word unveils hidden worry, stress, pressure, and the unknown. The context the word is often used in fixates on the one thing you will do for the rest of your life. But the question here is, does God really only have one thing planned for us and how do we go about changing the connotation of the word?

The first step: Say “Yes, Lord.”

Say “yes” to His promises. Read the story of Abraham. Revisit His covenants. Puzzle over the path of your ancestors. Never has God been unfaithful. Never has He winged a plan for His child. This will be a vital element in other areas of discipline.

Second, a relationship with God does not stem from your routine life, so don’t expect it to. Instead, the relationship is your life. God designed us to be in union with Him, living dependently on Him. This does not hinder your life by negating who you are. Through this union, you will live more fully in your true self in multiple areas of life. The phrase “abide in Him” also seems to be overused and this numbs the meaning. The steps of discipline to abide in Him not only lead you on His path to a multifaceted vocation, but also draw you nearer to Him.

So, why should you care? “Vocation” is not the only overused word, so why is it receiving the sole attention? Because it downgrades and undermines God. The chuckles and sarcastic grins ridicule the capability of God to lead His children.

Only a dent has been made on the topic, but you are the only way any more progress will be made. Start using the word and give praise before and after it. You could be left in the desert, but instead, you are wrapped up in the arms of sovereign Father who knows every bit of you.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, ‘God with us.’” -Matthew 1:23

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” -2 Corinthians 3:17-18