When most people hear the phrase “You have a call on your life,” their minds often leap to ministry. But John Bevere, in a recent podcast episode alongside his son Arden, is challenging that narrow definition. “If you hear somebody say, ‘I’ve got a call on my life,’ where do our minds go? Ministry. It’s positions of ministry, pastors, worship leaders,” Bevere said. “That is the most untrue statement.”
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According to Bevere, everyone has a specific calling—not just those in church leadership. He points to Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 139 as the foundation: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus… every day of my life was recorded in Your book.”
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But walking in that calling, he says, requires something more than ambition. “It is impossible to fulfill what we have been created to do in our own ability,” he said. “Why did God make it like that? So we’d rely on Him.”
Three Barriers That Keep People from Their Calling
Bevere unpacks Luke 9 and 10 to explain three key obstacles:
- Comfort and Security
“Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man doesn’t have anywhere to lay his head.”
According to Bevere, this man “put a high premium on security and comfort.” - Money
“Let me first go bury my father,” one man told Jesus. Bevere explains that in Jewish tradition, burying the father secures the double inheritance. “So he starts backing up—and so do a lot of other people.” - Relationships
“Let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
Jesus replied, “No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom.” Bevere said, “How many times have I seen wrong relationships cost people the call of God on their life?”
Three Steps to Discovering Your Calling
Bevere and Arden also laid out a roadmap to purpose:
- Diligently Seek God in Faith
“The Bible says without faith it’s impossible to please God… He rewards those who seek Him diligently.” - Get Planted in a Local Church or Ministry
“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish,” Bevere quoted from Psalm 92:13. “If I plant a seed in the soil, it’s going to grow.” - Avoid Distractions and Cultural Drift
“This life has a current,” Bevere warned. “If we don’t have direction, we’re going to be pulled by the currents—whatever’s happening on social media… we become somebody we weren’t intended to be.”
And perhaps the most freeing truth? Your calling might not look like anyone else’s. “There never has been another you. There never will be another you,” Arden said. “If you just copy your life based off of everyone else around you, then you are robbing the world of the unique expression of who God created you to be.”
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
