Your Calling: The Clue of the Callus

In one paragraph

This was week three of the "Work Smarter, Not Harder" series, built around the idea that our gifts and talents are sharpest when operated in the Spirit rather than in our own strength. Brian walked the Tribe fam through the difference between identity and calling, using Gideon's story in Judges 6 as the anchor text. The conversation also touched on Pentecost, God's family traditions, and how a...

Read together

1. 1 Kings 5:6 launching pad verse for the series, quoted as 'there is no one among us who can cut timber like the Sidonians'
2. Judges 6:11-16 read aloud by a congregation member, used to examine Gideon's calling
3. Ephesians 4 referenced loosely as 'we are God's workmanship created to do good things' in response to question about whether someone can be called to do wrong
4. Luke 5:10 cited as source of Jesus telling Simon 'from now on you'll be fishing for people', identifying Peter's calling
5. Galatians 2 quoted to show God gave Paul responsibility of preaching to Gentiles and Peter responsibility of preaching to Jews
6. Acts 26:16-18 quoted as Jesus speaking to Paul, appointing him as servant and witness sent to the Gentiles
7. Luke 4:18 quoted as Jesus describing his own calling, 'the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news'
8. 1 Corinthians 9:16 quoted as Paul saying he is compelled by God to preach and woe to him if he does not, used to illustrate calling as a burden

Talk about it

1. Brian described a calling as a unique life assignment entrusted to you by God, not something you define for yourself. What do you think is lost when a person tries to invent their own calling rather than receive one?
2. Bethany said that a big part of the power in a calling is not the thing itself but the obedience to it, and that obedience unlocks something in the relationship with God. Has there been a time in your life when obeying something you did not fully understand ended up mattering more than the outcome itself?
3. Brian asked the group to consider where their calluses are, meaning what they find themselves returning to over and over, what they are good at, what gives them life. Where do you see calluses forming in your own life, and what might they be pointing to?
4. Brian shared that his calling to shepherd people showed up first through court-ordered community service at a head start program, not through a plan he made. Gretchen pointed out that the Sidonians became skilled woodcutters partly because of the dense forest they grew up in. Looking back at your own circumstances and situations, what keeps coming up that you may not have chosen but keeps placing you somewhere specific?
5. Brian said the clearer the calling, the greater the impact, and that growing in confidence of your identity positions you to hear your calling more clearly. How does the way you see yourself right now either help or get in the way of you hearing what God might be asking you to do?