“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.” [Isaiah 43: 1]

God has summoned us by our names to belong to him and claim his name. We are all important to him. Some of us have responded to His calling, but some haven’t…  When we bear God‘s wonderful name, we must never do anything that would bring shame to it. 

The question is: What’s your calling in life? Or, how do you know if your calling is from God? As for me, I did not have the answer to this question in the past. I didn’t know, until God stepped in and said, “You’re mine”.

Like so many others, I wanted to know my purpose in life. I wanted to free myself from the bars which had enclosed me. But I couldn’t do it by my own effort, I needed a bigger power. So here, I would like to share a small part of my testimony with you. 

While I was craving for freedom from the chains of the world and the flesh, heaven was calling me, with new visions to consider. I dreamt I was sitting at the foot of a mountain for quite a long time. God was offering me a journey up to the top of the mountain. I meditated, prayed, and pondered if I should take the path God was offering me. When I woke up, I knew in my heart God was telling me, “Get up, it’s time to move.” I asked myself, “Do I want to stay here in this land of pain, in a land filled with empty promises, selfishness, fear, pretentiousness, and deception, or should I take this journey—a walk up to a path with signs pointing to hidden treasures along the way?” The treasures were love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I had no doubt that this path was filled with truth! I was eager to know my purpose in life, I wanted to know how to live a life filled with enduring peace.

I began my journey by making some difficult changes which needed to occur. These changes manifested themselves as crawling in my next vision. Moving slowly on my hands and knees up a steep road, the crawl in my dream mirrored the struggles that I was having in real life. I wanted to release myself from the stronghold of the world’s distractions and bondage. To be free from the need to always please others or the desires of my own flesh. To live my life concerned only with pleasing God. For I knew that if I could obtain this freedom, everything else would fall into place. Spiritual freedom sounds so incredibly sweet – sweet as honey and precious as a jewel. The craving for such a jewel was overwhelming! So I pressed forward in faith. There were many turns, twists and even a few setbacks. But it was in the detours that I learned the biggest lessons! I was slowly getting to know myself and others, and most importantly, I was beginning to know my God.  

During this journey I was completely aware of the visible world. But I needed to put all my trust into what I could not see with my eyes. How was I able to continue to trust and keep moving forward toward the heavenly promises? Praise God! I had an army of godly people who were each on their own unique journey, praying and supporting me. They all were witnessing God’s miraculous work in my life. I was getting fixed from the inside out. 

The changes were happening as the Lord was unveiling His mystery. I could hear that the “deep” was calling to the depths of my soul. (Psalm 119:45) “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.”

The journey of the dark night of the soul was over, and I heard God said, “You are mine!”

A calling from God will always be accompanied by His peace, as well as anything else we need. Sometimes God will ask us to do something big or scary, and while we may feel afraid, our fears will be met by God’s overwhelming grace and peace to do whatever it is He’s asking us to do. He will also never call us to do something without equipping us to do the thing He’s asking us to do. Read (Matthew 11:28-30, Philippians 4:7) and you will be blessed.

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