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A Simple Prayer to Find Renewed Meaning and Contentment in Your Calling

by | Feb 5, 2020 | Articles, Faith and Work, Resources

“You are God. I am not.”

I try to pray some form of this prayer multiple times a day. Not because I fear God is having some kind of identity crisis. I know He’s been around forever and all, but He’s not suffering from dementia. As I declare His identity back to Him, I’m really reminding myself of who I am (or in this case, who I’m not). There is life in this prayer, but the exercise doesn’t come naturally.

I don’t care what your enneagram number says, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, an alpha dog or a passive follower, there’s one thing I know about you:

You want to be God.

So do I.

We want to dictate our own course, be the masters of our domain, create the narratives of our own lives, our own way, for our own purposes and pleasure. While we were created to “live under” our Creator, to reflect His glory, since Genesis 3 we’ve bristled and rebelled at this undercard role.

And so we spend our lives pursuing our calling our own way, striving to leverage our good, God-given gifts for our own empowerment and self-fulfillment, all the while wondering why we can’t seem to find the meaning and contentment we long for in our relationships, our religion, or our everyday work. Even those of us who profess faith in God tend to evoke Him like He is blue, lives in a lamp, sings show-tunes, and is voiced by Robin Williams.

It’s time to flip the script.

I wrote this in my journal last week as a kick in my own pants:

We serve at the pleasure of The King.

His will may lead us to influence or leave us anonymous.

We may understand our circumstances or struggle to see the “why.”

We may feel bold and confident one day and wrestle with deep insecurity the next.

Even as we lead we’re being led.

It’s His Kingdom and His will, not mine.

We serve at the pleasure of The King.

Our natural instinct prays “God, please come and empower my agenda today!” Our Gospel-saturated, Spirit-renewed instinct prays, “God, allow me the joy of playing my role in furthering your agenda today!” It doesn’t matter if we are performing brain surgery or sweeping the floors, the submission of our will is where our true identity lies.

Do you want to find renewed meaning and contentment in your calling? Pray this loud and pray it often:

You are God, I am not.

Erik Cooper

After starting his career in the business world, Erik spent 12 years in full-time ministry, both on staff at a large suburban church and as a church planter in a downtown urban context. In addition to his role at The Stone Table, he also serves as the Vice President of Community Reinvestment Foundation, a nonprofit real estate company that provides high-quality affordable housing all over Indiana while investing its profits into missions through The Stone Table.

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