Consider Your Calling: Six Questions for Discerning Your Vocation

by Gordon T. Smith

What on earth is God doing? Who are you? What is your stage of life? What are your circumstances? What is the cross you will have to bear? What are you afraid of? We ask these six critical questions—and then we ask them again—at points of transition in our lives. They all lead us to the one core What is the good work to which I am called? Gordon T. Smith, author of Courage and Calling, "It is a good question because our work matters to us, to others and, of course, it matters to God. Work itself is good. It is vital to our human identity; and we are most ourselves, most who God calls us to be, living in what it means to know the salvation of God, when we know the grace of work well done." However, Smith acknowledges that this is not a simple question to answer in the midst of our very complicated lives. That's why he has written this brief and accessible book—to offer the support and insight we need as we ponder these six core questions in community with God and others. As a steward of your life, in attentiveness to the calling of God, how is God inviting you to engage the world?

Genres: Self Help, Christianity, Nonfiction, Counselling, Leadership, Theology, Christian Living

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2016

About the author

Gordon T. Smith is the president of Ambrose University and Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, where he also serves as professor of systematic and spiritual theology. He is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of many books, including Courage and Calling, Called to Be Saints, Spiritual Direction, and Consider Your Calling.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually, at least for me, when I think of God 'calling' someone to some type of work it is always in the context of some type of 'official' evangelistic type of work, such as one being a missionary overseas, starting a 'prison' ministry, working at a rescue mission, teaching a class at Church on Sundays…etc. Normally it is always outside of 'everyday life', outside of one's secular profession and outside of one's life at home, it is something recognizably 'spiritual'. The author of this book has a different perspective(one that I basically agree with). The premise of this book, Consider Your Calling by Gordon T. Smith, is that the work that God calls Christians to do is not just missionary work, or heading church ministries, but it is also the seemingly 'secular' callings.

I LOVE the premise of the book, I just have some problems with how Mr. Smith tries to teach it. First, he talks about discovering ourselves, discovering what matters to us (after first asking what matters to God which is good), and I sort of get what he means but something seemed 'off' to me. He says things like,"…It can be so difficult to peel back the layers of pretense and get to the heart of our identity, to the deep sense of who we are. But we must, because wisdom is found here. The wise are always those who know God and know the ways of God. But the wise are also those who come to the gracious and liberating truth of their own self-identity. " and "Saying yes to our lives will mean saying no to that which is not us. …we stop living with living with illusions about who we are or wish we were - and accept the life that has been given to us. We embrace it, we choose it, and we walk with it." Yes, God will often work with our desires and interests, but what if He chooses to put us in a vocation which we have no interest? Mr. Smith does say that, "…God's calling on our lives will consistently be in light of our actual circumstances." And I completely agree with that and appreciate his bringing that up, I just wish he would have dealt more with submission to God when we end up in a vocation that we would not have chosen for ourselves, that we should try to develop an interest in it and do our work to the best of our ability to God's glory. One really may end up in a profession in which one has no interest but doesn't have a plausible way of getting out of it. For instance, in Biblical times I am sure that many (if not all) servants would not have an innate interest in their vocation if they had an unjust master, and perhaps they would rather have done something else, but Paul tells them, "Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is acceptable, if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs, suffering wrongfully."(1Pe 2:18-19 ASV) Perhaps they were slaves or bondservants and didn't have a choice as to their profession, but if they were a Christian they already had their true identity given to them by Christ (they didn't have to analyze their own interests, their interests were given to them by God in His Word) and thus they knew how they were to act in their profession.

The above brings me to another point that I think Mr. Smith should have dealt with, our identity in Christ - that type of 'self-discovery' is more important to discover first than the self-discovery Mr. Smith was talking about. That is something that I do not remember him dealing with, the new people we are in Christ (defined by God's Word),though he does talk about us aspiring to deeper fellowship and identification with Christ, I just don't remember him focusing on the fact that as Christians we are new creations/people in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), that that is something that we need to come to grips with first of all by reading God's Word which tells us who we are and what attributes we are to be pursuing, humility (and counting others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2)) ,self-control, patience, love, joy, submitting to authorities/bosses that God has placed over us (Romans 13, Titus 2:5..etc.), giving thanks in every circumstance, renewing our minds, dying to self…and on so on. The Bible is the best place to start for discovering our identity, if we realize who we are in Christ and how we are best pleasing to our true Master, then we are ready for any profession God assigns to us.

Another thing that I didn't like was that Smith seems to think that the 'religious orders' of various monks (Benedictines, Franciscans…and so on) were legitimate works for God, but from what I understand, most monks were imposing sacrificial works upon themselves to earn some type of favor with God (for salvation or grace) rather than working from salvation/grace that God had already given, they worked for it, and that type of work is heretical as the salvation/grace of God is not of human works, it is not earned by us at all.

And lastly, he is a bit too open to liturgy for my taste, he encourages signing oneself with the sign of the cross before going about our work, and there is also a prayer at the end of the book that one can use in corporate worship. He defines worship as "the liturgy of the gathered people of God" - But isn't true worship obedience? Serving God and submitting to His will in everything? I think he missed another great starting point there, instead of talking about how we are to participate in God's work by being like Him in being creative and working along with God's plan to redeem people, he could have, instead, defined worship and obedience/our work for the Lord/submission to Him and thus have come from the standpoint of "we don't only worship on Sundays, or at official church gatherings, we can worship every single day, every hour by our submission to His will and by our obedience to His Word". And thus we can work at secular occupations and be worshiping God. Yes we want to participate in the work of God (though I might have some trouble with how Smith described I in the book), but our participation is not just a privilege, it is 'worship'. I must say though that I heartily agree with this statement the author makes: "We are participants in the grand narrative, the work of the Creator and Redeemer. It is not, in the end, all about what we are up to, but rather what God is up to."

All in all, though I loved the point of the book, I think that Mr. Smith missed some key starting points for the basis Christian service. I'll end with my favorite quote from the book where the author is encouraging people to recognize God's sovereignty in their lives/in their occupations:

Our vocations are always for 'such a time as this ' (Esther 4:14). Our vocations are always for this time and this place.  Always.  We always embrace the good work to which we are called in response to actual circumstances, challenges and opportunities.  No one is ahead of their time, no one missed their time.  Further, this means that vocation is not generic, by which I mean that we do not fill out a form about ourselves and our interests and strengths and then turn to the back of the book to see if we are to be an engineer, artist or preachers.  Rather, our vocations are always received and responded to in light of the actual situations in which we find ourselves.  And typically these are circumstances over which we may have very little control.  We have been placed here, in this time and place, and now we need to navigate our way through what lies before us.   What must be stressed is that wise women and men refuse to think of themselves as victims of their circumstances, but rather as those who have been providentially situated - before God and in the grace of God - and will respond with courage, creativity and patience to what is at hand."

Many thanks to the folks at InterVarsity Press for sending me a complimentary review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable).

[Brett Monge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful, Biblically informed, well-balanced and practical. A great short read on discerning your vocation and the purpose of it. I read it in an afternoon.

[Olivia Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice idea, poorly written.

[Spencer Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, pithy, helpful book about calling. While it may lack in specific examples, etc. due to its length, it’s super practical and would serve as a good guide to anyone looking to discern what’s next (or hoping to disciple those discerning what’s next).

[Jen Bradbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

My high school youth ministry meets for this first time this school year this Wednesday and this fall, we’re talking about vocation. In preparation for this series, I’ve been doing a ton of reading on vocation, including Gordon T. Smith’s fabulous Consider Your Calling: Six Questions for Discerning Your Vocation.

In Consider Your Calling, Gordon explores six questions that help people discern what the good work is that God is calling them to. As Gordon reminds his readers, “The goal of life is not less work but to know and embrace the good work to which we are called.” The six questions he explores in this book are:

1. What on earth is God doing?
2. Who are you?
3. What is your stage of life?
4. What are your circumstances?
5. What is the cross you will have to bear?
6. What are you afraid of?

As someone who works in a very different field (ministry) than what my degree is in (engineering), I appreciated Gordon’s exploration of who we are. According to him, “For most of us calling will, quite simply, make sense; it will fit us like a tailor-made piece of clothing.” That was certainly the case for me. My calling as a youth worker uses every single one of my gifts and gives me life in a way that I’m confident engineering never would have.

The first week of my vocation series with teens focuses on who they are. As such, I’ve found myself routinely thinking about this statement from Gordon: “Self-knowledge is not, then, an act of selfishness or self-centeredness, but an act of stewardship, of seeing ourselves in truth so that we can live in truth for Christ and for others.”

As someone who is in my late-thirties, even though my work focuses on young people, I also found Gordon’s chapter on “What is your stage of life?” particularly interesting. Gordon reminds those, like me, who are in their mid-adult years that “few things are more crucial to this stage of our vocational development than learning how to work with others… No one fulfills their vocation alone but only in interdependency upon others.”

I also loved Gordon’s vision for retirement. As I’ve watched family members age, I’ve found myself imagining what my retirement will look like. According to Gordon, “We retire to a new opportunity. Retirement is not an exit from but an entrance into what is maybe the most fruitful and satisfying chapter of our lives.”

As a Lutheran youth worker, I also really appreciated Gordon’s effort to connect vocation with baptism. According to him, “vocations are a vital means by which we fulfill our baptismal identity… Our vocation is now part of what it means to live in a way [that is] consistent with the meaning of our baptism, under the mercy of God, with ultimate allegiance to no other agency, authority, clan or nation than Christ.” I literally preached on baptism last week and yet I’ve never once considered its connection with vocation.

Without a doubt, Consider Your Calling is a helpful book for anyone interested in exploring vocation. Because of its short length, this book would be an easy one to discuss in a small group setting, even with high school or college students. But don’t let its short-length fool you. Consider Your Calling is packed with substance!

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Disclosure: I received a free copy of Consider Your Calling from InterVarsity Press in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5/5. Nothing all that novel but lots of good practical advice on discerning vocation, especially seeking out input and counsel from trusted friends and mentors and recognizing our own limitations. This book will stir up reflections and questions for readers who are "considering their calling."

[Kaley C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished in a few hours. Overall, a good book.

One big critique- I find it naive to describe all work as “good.” Working to create weapons of mass destruction at Lockheed Martin, or even working in their admin doing paperwork, is not “good.” In order to live in a just society, these jobs which are inherently destructive to God’s creation (killing human lives, deforestation of nature, exploitation of overseas child labor, etc) must cease to exist. It’s easier to look the other way. As Christians, we must not be afraid to speak up against these injustices disguised as “work.”

Other than that, I found this book had a lot of merit in more ways than I initially thought. It’s written, mostly, for people “mid life.” I am 29 and considering a career change and this gave me a lot of courage to do so. I cannot be bound to my self-created chains, or set standards in my head that I’ll never reach. Life is moving, and fluid, and our goals and positions in life have to be too. I can find good work in a variety of careers- not just the one initially tied myself to. And that’s ok, I think it’s growth to realize that.

It isn’t a perfect book, but it is good. I would suggest it to people aged 30-55, but really it’s applicable to almost any stage of life.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book has six questions discussed over 120 A3 pages, simple and deep questions. The book has strong biblical foundation curated in the Christian theological wisdom. I enjoyed the concepts introduced in that book. They are balanced and directed to all walks of life.

The questions helped me to uncover new ‘areas’ deep in myself.
My favourite quotes : “Even when we move into our senior years we can ask: what new learning is called for so that I can be all that I am called to be as I embrace the good work that will mark this chapter of my life?”
“No one can navigate this world without others who partner with them along the way”
“The call of God is the call of God. The only reasonable response is that we accept the call. We obey”

I hope you enjoy this book as I did

[Dr Ariel Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book, almost more of a pamphlet, is a simple but practical view for anyone questioning what God has for them specifically. There are six main questions about God, about our own personalities, about our stage of life (with counsel for the different specific stages), the circumstances we find ourselves in, the cost we'll have to bear, and how to prayerfully and intentionally face the fear that surfaces within ourselves that prevents us from following God's calling.

I worked through this book with my own journal, and I know I'll recommend it repeatedly.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book on Labor Day and found the closing prayer especially fitting, suitable for use in a service of worship. I am well past the stage of discerning a primary life's work, but as Dr. Smith acknowledges, we are called to different work in different times and circumstances. This book poses good questions that, while not new, are well worth pondering, not only for the young, but for anyone in transition, even to retirement and beyond.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting some more questions to go along with the main six, things that offered more pointed reflection areas. The main ones were certainly good to reflect on, but more direction would have been helpful. I guess that's what the bigger book is for!

[Hayley Meijndert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has some very good questions to think about when discerning your calling. I like how he explains all the different phases of life and the different community you need around you in them and the different stages of discerning what to do.

[Tyler Fenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️. Smith offers sound advice for the high schooler, college attendee, or college graduate. Seek wise counsel, self-reflection, and consider your circumstances. My issue with Smith’s approach is that his thesis presumes that vocation equals calling. I’d argue that it is possible and even likely that vocation is merely a means to support a calling that is lived outside of our work. I would have liked to read Smith’s thoughts on that.

[Ryan Spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 - best chapter is chapter five: What is the Cross You Will Have to Bear. Beginning each with a Psalm was nice as well. Ending each with some sort of way of responding to some prompts from the chapter would have been useful.

[Ethan Faris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not alot to say, nothing that really rocked my world, just some common sense reminders and Christian ideas about vocation I already thought.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief but extremely helpful.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book, short read to help navigate difficult career decisions with grace. Not something to work through alone (which the author encourages us to have three good conversation partners).

[Sara Clark]

read it for a scholarship i’m applying for. it was better than i expected it would be. fairly helpful.

[Lisette Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a seminar class but ended up taking a lot away! Great for new transitions in life

[Tracia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've ever read on calling. Succinct, insightful, and refreshing

[Ana Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little but powerful book full of knowledge and sentences to ponder. Regardless of your age or position in life (young adult, middle adulthood, or retired) this book is highly recommended.

[Brian Stankich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful resource to get you thinking about your present work, how you navigated your past work, and anticipating your work in the future.

[Dave McNeely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim volume presents 6 key questions for people at any stage of life seeking to clarify their vocational calling. As a slim volume, it is quite helpful; however, its brief treatment of deep and complex questions leaves the reader desiring so much more. For instance, Smith only gives fleeting attention to the role that our relational responsibilities play in our vocational discernment and offers little help for those struggling with those very questions. In addition, Smith's treatment of vocational discernment seems to have a limited audience as Smith almost universally assumes a rather wide-open range of opportunities for his readers. One would like to see Smith wrestle with how his understanding of vocational discernment might apply to people who do not have access to higher education, jobs, stable relationships, etc. This may be asking far too much of such a slim volume but these are nonetheless questions that the book begs on its own.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars if I could) This book is like a shortened fly-by of Gordon Smith's "Courage and Calling" -- it has many of the same main points but distills them down to 6 questions meant to be conversation starters in discerning one's vocation. There's also a wonderful prayer at the end for people of all working sectors, which is the main reason I'm keeping it in my library. I liked "Courage and Calling" better, but this book would be great for sharing Smith's ideas about vocational discernment with people who prefer shorter reads.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book. Although there were a few good points made, overall I thought it was vague and repetitive. Smith often didn't even bother to rephrase his points, just repeated them over again, and again. I disagree with his theology behind Question Five. To me, the best part was the conclusion, where he encourages jumping in and following your calling even when you may not have all the answers you would like.

[Carter Hemphill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being a short book, the author does an excellant job providing the necessary context to help anyone think about their current vocation and how it fits (or not fits) with God's calling on their life. To limit this book to only college students would be to greatly restrict the target audience -- even those who are mid-career or later would find this book to be a tremendous means to evaluate where God has them employed at this moment in time. Highly recommended!

[Kameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful little book. Great questions to ask wherever you are in discerning your vocation. He positions the issues in really helpful ways. The most helpful piece for me was around knowing yourself, and in light of that, where to focus the use of your time and energy.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short devotion about discerning vocation with heavy emphasis on needing others to help you discern. Wisdom about life stage, cost, and fear.