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WAYS TO DISCERN YOUR VOCATION
Meryl Herr
Vocational discernment is a process, but it’ s not a step-by-step process like a recipe. It’ s not a linear process at all. The goal of vocational discernment is to get a sense of direction, a bit more information to help us continue on the way of faithfulness. Even if it yields only one more degree of clarity than we had before, engaging in vocational discernment can help us move toward the alignment between vocation and occupation.
Paying Attention to God We can’ t discern our calling without knowing what the caller’ s voice sounds like. Jesus told his disciples,“ I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”( John 10:14). He goes on to say that his sheep will know his voice; they will heed him when he calls. To hear God’ s call, we need to comprehend the depth of the Father’ s love for us, learn what he cares about, grow in what it means to live out the values of his kingdom. We need to practice being obedient to Christ and develop dependence on the Holy Spirit. We won’ t do any of this perfectly, but we can pay attention to God by trying to abide in Christ and drawing from him as the branches draw life from the vine( John 15:1).
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