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Key Bible Verse: The Lord has given them special skills… . They excel in all the crafts needed for the work (Exodus 35:35). Bonus Reading: Exodus 35:30-36:2

I was a pre-med major in college when at age 20 I became a Christ follower. I'd wanted to be a doctor because it paid well and seemed reasonably well respected. But with my new life in Christ came a desire to live a life that would make the most impact for him.

As I evaluated medicine through that lens, I realized that although competent in science, I had scant passion for medical matters. And unlike what I'd seen God give others who had been called to this field, nothing in my spirit sparked a vision for how it could play into the wider scheme of things.

But I knew what I did … could do … should do … was made to do. All my life—whether through music or drama, writing or speaking, teaching or painting—I'd been a communicator. Amazingly, this basic understanding of who God had made me to be had never factored into my thinking about vocation. Now other factors, such as my bent toward analytical thinking, fit under the communication touchstone. So I changed my major to communications and made plans to develop whatever abilities God had given me toward building the kingdom. Working out the specifics has taken decades, but the course itself was set.

I'd answered God's call for my life.

—James Emery White in Serious Times

My Response: I sense that God has designed me to …

Thought to Apply: Every man loves what he is good at.  —Thomas Shadwell (English playwright)

Adapted from Serious Times (InterVarsity, 2004) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Thank you for the way you created me. Please help me understand how your design should affect my career and service choices.

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