What Is God’s Calling on My Life? Purpose, Obedience and God's Plan

Many believers ask the same honest question: What is God’s calling on my life?

In this episode of The Bible Made Real, Kathy Abraham unpacks the biblical difference between purpose, calling, and assignments—and why understanding each one brings clarity, peace, and direction.

You’ll learn why your universal calling is rooted in your identity in Christ and never changes, how current assignmentsare often tied to your present season, and how personal calling is revealed gradually through obedience over time. Through the story of Esther, we see how God places His people intentionally—often before they fully understand why—and how faithfulness in the present prepares us for what’s next.

This episode is an encouragement for anyone feeling uncertain, restless, or afraid of missing God’s will. If you’re seeking clarity, trust, and confidence to obey God where you are right now, this conversation will help anchor you in truth.

Key themes:
Purpose • Calling • Assignments • Obedience • Identity in Christ • Faithful living

Scripture referenced: The book of Esther

Obedience doesn’t always reveal the full picture—but it always moves you forward.

Welcome to The Bible Made Real.

Be sure to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss upcoming episodes.

You can connect with Kathy on Instagram @kathyabidinglight and learn more at kathyabraham.com.

Transcript

Welcome to the Bible Made Real podcast where scripture transforms your everyday life. I'm your host, Kathy Abraham, and I'm here to help you fall in love with scripture like never before. Not in a confusing or overwhelming way, but in a simple, accessible, everyday life kind of way. If you've ever felt intimidated by the Bible, unsure where to start or wondered how God's word actually connects to your everyday life and your struggles, this podcast is for you.

Each week, we break down scripture in a way that brings clarity, depth, and transformation. We talk about anxiety, purpose, identity, spiritual habits, relationships, and what it means to walk closely with Jesus in your everyday life. Expect biblical truth, real life wisdom, and practical steps that you can use right away. If you're ready to grow spiritually, think biblically, and let the Word of God shape every part of your life. Hit follow and join me for this journey.

Welcome to the Bible Made Real.

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Welcome to the Bible Made Real podcast where scripture transforms your everyday life. I'm Cathy Abraham and in this episode we're talking about God's purpose in your life. This is a question that many women ask me all the time. What does God want for me and what is my purpose and calling in my life? We're going to talk about that today. By the end of this episode you will understand the difference between purpose, calling and assignment and you'll walk away with practical steps for discerning your God given purpose and actually living it out. So let's dive in.

Category one, your universal calling. This is what I like to call the identity category because this is who you are regardless of whatever season or circumstance is happening in your life. This is the unshakable foundation that every believer stands on and the callings don't expire. They don't shift with seasons and they don't depend on your gifting, your personality or opportunity. These are for every single Christian and these are the major ones. The first one, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6 29 says,

This is the work of God that you believe in Him who sent you. two, eternal life. John 3, 16, whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Number three, you are called to love God fully. Matthew 22, 37 says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. Number four, you are called to love your neighbor. Matthew 22, 39 says, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Number five, to walk as children of light. Ephesians 5, 8.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Number six, your sanctification. First Thessalonians 4.3, for this is the will of God for you, your sanctification. Number seven, to preach the gospel and to make disciples. Matthew 29 verses 19 through 20 says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Number eight, to be holy. As it says in first Peter 1.16, be holy as I am holy.

Number nine, and this one is my favorite one, we are called into the fellowship and relationship of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1, 9 says, God has called you into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. You are called into a relationship with Jesus Christ. And if this becomes the core of who you are, if knowing Jesus becomes your greatest treasure, your peace, your identity, and your greatest purpose, then everything else becomes clear.

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because Jesus reiterates his sacrificial life. He says in Luke 924, whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Christ is saying your purpose and your full calling will become evident when you give God your life, everything. Then in turn, he gives you his life and his purpose in you. Paul says that he counts all things rubbish so that he can gain Christ. So when Christ becomes the center, clarity follows. Your calling becomes sharp because it's no longer about you. It's about him shining through you.

Remember this, that God always forms your heart before He unfolds your assignments. So who you are becoming matters more to God than what you are building. So we must always live out these foundational truths first and grow in spiritual maturity before we understand our calling or assignment. The next category, your current assignment. This is what I like to call the obedience category. It answers the questions, God, what do want me to do right now in this season? Assignments change, they evolve.

and they expire. And they're usually tied to your life circumstances, your responsibilities, your relationships, and opportunities that God has placed in front of you right now. Here are three questions to discern your current assignment. Number one, what has God placed in front of me right now? What is my God given assignment in this moment? Assignments are not your identity, they're not your final destination, or your forever calling.

They're just how God trains you for the future that he's shaping you in in the present moments. These will change depending on what you're going through. So the three questions to ask yourself. Number one, what has God placed in front of me right now? Not hypothetically, not your dreams, not like one day when I have more time, I will do this. No, right now, what are the needs that you need to nurture? What relationships do you need a steward? What responsibility are yours right now? And what burden keeps coming up in your spirit?

God rarely asks you to steward something that he hasn't already said in front of you. Number two, what grace has God given to me for this season? This is deeper than skills. Grace means a strength to carry something and the capacity to sustain something and the internal peace that usually accompanies obedience. Sometimes the grace is for motherhood, for building something, for healing a special time in your life, for resting, studying, serving, recovering, waiting. Assignments are recognized by grace, not just ability.

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Question number three, what obedience today will prepare me for tomorrow? This is the bridge between your present reality and the future God wants for you. It could be writing consistently, studying scripture, deeper, learning a new skill, saying yes to mentoring, saying no to distraction, showing up where God has planted you, because today's obedience is always preparing you for the next thing. Assignments shape calling long before calling becomes public. What do assignments actually produce in your soul?

The real beauty is that assignments are not just tasks, they're actually forming you. These are places where God does his deepest work. Assignments always produce humility when you learn to serve before you lead, endurance to stay when it's hard, character, you learn to choose obedience over emotion, spiritual muscle, you learn to walk by faith, not by feelings, discernment, you learn to learn the rhythm of God's voice in real life, preparation, God uses assignments to shape your long-term calling in ways you cannot see yet.

So if you're a mom and you're just like, all I'm doing is raising kids, no, you're learning shepherding. You're not just serving in church, you're learning leadership. You're not just working at a job, you're learning diligence and honor. You're not just caring for your home, you're learning stewardship and discipline. I see this in my own life. I see that every season had a different assignment. And now I understand that God is continually building and shaping me through those assignments. Every assignment and season was preparing me for the next thing.

So I remember like putting my life on hold when I met my husband so that I could support him while he was in medical school. My days revolved around waiting for him to get back from medical school or his rotation so I could make him dinner. I wanted to be there to support him and help him during those years. And then I went on to PA school and got my master's in nutrition. So that season was just hunkering down and studying. I didn't do anything else like for two years, you know? Then I had children. And so I went through the season of raising little babies in motherhood. My husband was traveling all the time.

my season and assignment was to stay home and nurture my kids. And later I like studied theology. I love theology. I wanted to learn and I see how God has prepared me going through that, working at a theological school, serving a theological school, and now preparing me for this ministry. So every assignment has a reason and a purpose and God is using whatever is in front of you right now for the next thing. So don't rush through your assignments because there is so much value

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where you are right now, learn to do them well. The key was I wasn't behind and I wasn't off track. I was in formation. Every assignment was preparation for the next thing. And every season was shaping my future calling. The next thing to notice about your assignment is where there is fruit, that means you're living your assignment. Living inside your assignment brings peace. It will bring joy. It will bring clarity. It will bring open doors. It will bring confidence. It will bring spiritual alignment.

unexpected opportunities and divine momentum for whatever God has for you because you're not striving, you're obeying and you're living in the current moment. Let's look at scripture and specifically the story of Esther. Let's step into her story for a moment. I want you to open your Bibles with me and let's read this passage of Esther. But before we do actually, I just want to preface this for you so you understand exactly what her scenario is. Okay.

Esther was not born into royalty. She was actually a Jewish orphan. She was raised in exile in the Persian Empire during the captivity of the Israelites in Babylon. Nothing about her life looked glamorous. Nothing looked purposeful. So let me tell you what's happening here. After King Ahasuerus removed Queen Vashti, he ordered a search for a new queen. So young women across the entire empire were brought in the Citadel of Susa, including Esther.

Before meeting the king, each woman had to go through 12 months of beauty preparation, six months of oil and myrrh treatments, and then six months of perfumes and other beauty treatments. So after this one year preparation period, each woman was brought before the king and the king got to choose whomever he liked. And the scripture specifically says the king loved Esther more than any other woman and that she obtained grace and favor in his sight. God placed Esther in a palace that she never asked for.

because her assignment was ahead of her, not behind her, which we'll see in a moment. A decree had just been made by Evil Hammond, the king's right-hand man, that all the Jews should be slaughtered on a specific day because he was enraged with Esther's cousin Mordecai, her older cousin who took care of her, because he would refuse to bow down to Hammond. And so Hammond did this entire decree and it was stamped and sealed by the king. And in the Persian law, once the...

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King has stamped a decree it cannot be reversed under any circumstances. So this was no longer a death threat. This was literally a countdown for the entire annihilation of the Jewish population. This was a legal execution order, signed sealed and irrevocable. The entire Jewish race, men, women and children, were suddenly living under a death sentence. This is the moment Mordecai sends a message to Esther.

And when Esther finds out what's happening and she finds out about this decree, of course, she was so upset and greatly troubled. Let's read Mordecai's words in Esther chapter four, verses 13 to 14. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther, do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all of the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father's house will perish.

Yet who knows if whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. And that's it. That's all she needed to hear. Something must have completely clicked in Esther's mind when she saw this. I think she saw her whole life honestly flash before her eyes and she kind of had one of those aha moments like, wait a second, now it makes sense. This all makes sense. Now I know why I'm here. Now I get it. This is the moment that I've been being prepared for. This is a moment that God has asked me to step up and move.

And so maybe this is something you are facing right now in your life. Maybe God's asked you to move, to start a new job, to enter a relationship, to quit a relationship, to start something new, stop something that you're doing that's distracting you from God. Maybe you're supposed to go to a different church, change something about your life, and it just doesn't make sense. Why is God asking you to do this thing? And usually it doesn't. In the moment, it doesn't make sense. It's after all the things that you've gone through, then you have this moment where you look back and you're like,

Now it makes sense. Now I understand what God was doing this whole time. Now I get why He's placed me here. I'm supposed to be here. There's a reason and a purpose for my placement and position. And we see Esther get to work because the very next verse, this is what she says. She says, okay, go gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me. Neither eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise.

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And so I will go to the king, which is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." She totally understood what was happening here. She understood what was on the line and she took it super seriously. She did not mess around. She said, okay, I get it. I'm gonna fast and I need you guys to fast. Me and my maids are gonna fast and whatever happens, I'm gonna go in there, talk to the king and you're not supposed to. You're not allowed to go to the king unless you've been summoned by him. You're not allowed to enter. That is actually a death sentence.

She stood in the gap for God's people and she stepped up. And what's beautiful about this story is that once we see she's kind of made up her mind to step into this position and what God's wanted for her life, we see how the trajectory of an entire nation shifted and how the whole nation of Israel was saved because of the obedience and faith of one orphan girl. So don't take your assignments for granted and don't take them lightly. Don't downplay your placement and position and influence. You will be stretched, yes.

You will have to face your fears. Yes, you will have to be tested and it will always cost you something. Yes. But what a privilege it is to be used by God. What blessings await you on the other side of your obedience and your yes. God is strategically placing you where he wants you for such a time as this. But there's something else I really want you to catch here. Notice what Mordecai says here. He says, for if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father's house,

will perish. What is Mordecai saying here? Mordecai is saying that he knows God's ultimate covenant for the people of Israel and that God would not allow utter destruction to come. And so he knows God will take care of it somehow, some way, whether with Esther or without Esther, right? But this opportunity came for Esther to be part of God's plan. See, God's will and plan will succeed no matter what, with or without you. God's plan cannot be stopped. So the question is not if

God's will is going to happen in the world. Of course it will. Do you want to get an agreement with God and His plan and His will? And do you want to step into what He's already doing? Because God doesn't force obedience. He gives you the chance and the opportunity to step into this assignment and work with Him. But there's also consequences here to our disobedience. If you notice here, Mordecai tells her, you and your father's house will perish. He knows that no matter what's going to happen, that if Esther doesn't speak up and say something,

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she will die and her entire lineage will die, which is Mordecai as well. And so Mordecai is telling her, if you don't step up into this moment that God has created you for, we will reap the consequences of your disobedience. So don't miss your divine assignment because you're scared or out of fear. Because what if you're not in the palace by accident? What if your hidden pain and your exile and your orphan story was all part of God's plan to put you in front of the king at the very moment your people need you?

When it comes to your assignment, this is the moment where obedience matters because this is where faith and your calling collide. Esther's placement became her purpose, but only when she stepped in to obedience to save her people to fast and to go into the king. And God used her placement, her exact location to reveal her purpose. We see this is true across all scripture. Moses was in the field shepherding when God called him to confront Pharaoh. David was delivering bread when God positioned him to defeat Goliath.

Mary was living quietly when God assigned her to carry Christ. Nehemiah was tasting wine as a cupbearer when God called him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Assignments always look ordinary before they come extraordinary. Scripture tells us a man's heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs steps. Okay, let's move on to the next category. Category three, your personal calling. This is the one everyone wants to know. And I like to call this the destiny category. The long-term purpose that God has shaped for you before you were even born.

Your destiny usually includes your gifts, your wiring, your passions, your story, your holy burdens, your placement, and your unique spiritual assignment in the kingdom of God. Just like Esther, your calling is revealed slowly through seasons, layers, obedience, pain, opportunities, and divine placement, not overnight, not all at once. I see this unfold in my life as well. Everything I've done has fed into my calling, not the other way around.

None of those earlier assignments contradicted my calling. They actually formed my calling. I call this the calling cycle because assignments feed your calling and calling fuels your assignments. And they're both stabilized by the universal calling that we called before. Your assignments change as God leads you. But your identity in Christ is the anchor that never moves. So here's a simple framework. Your universal calling, that's who you are. That's your identity. Never changes. Your personal calling,

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who you are becoming, your destiny, your current assignment is what God wants from you today, obedience. But here's a truth that brings so much freedom that you'll never get the blueprint for your whole life. It just doesn't happen that way. You'll only get the next step and it will only be revealed to you through obedience. I cannot emphasize this enough because obedience and saying yes is the most important thing you can do to bring about clarity in your life.

You won't know the next step unless you obey what God is asking of you right now. That's how God reveals his purpose for you. So let's talk about five biblical markers that help bring clarity to your purpose and help you really discern exactly your purpose right now. So these are signs and patterns, spiritual fingerprints that God really uses to reveal your long-term calling. The first one, pay attention to holy burdens. What breaks your heart? What rises you up as in compassion?

to intercede for others. What keeps you up at night? What creates righteous anger in your heart? And what stirs you up to pray? What keeps coming back to you all the time, no matter what, even when you try to ignore it? Often your calling is hidden inside your holy burden. The Holy Spirit creates these holy burdens inside you to help accomplish God's work. Nehemiah didn't receive a vision for this dream, right? He just all of a sudden had this holy ache over Jerusalem's walls. It made no sense at all.

but it did in God's eyes because God created this burden in him so that he can go fulfill this assignment that he needed to do. Number two, notice where God is placing you. Placement is crucial. It's not accidental. This is where you consistently find yourself. Is it serving? Is it influencing? Is it mentoring or leading, thriving or being asked to show up? God often reveals destiny through geography and proximity.

Esther was placed in a palace she never asked for because her assignment was tied to her location. Number three, look at your God given gifts and wiring. Ephesians 2 10 says that you are his workmanship, created for good works designed intentionally for the works that God has for you. So your calling is often found where your natural gifts and talents shine. It's your personality, your spiritual desires. This is where everything intersects with what the world needs. A famous Christian author, Frederick Bushner, said it beautifully.

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He says, calling is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. Number four, pay attention to fruit and favor. Where you see grace, where you see ease, where you see impact, supernatural strength, unexpected opportunity, or rapid growth. God is breathing there. Fruit is a mirror of calling. Fruit is a confirmation. Number five, walk through the doors that God opens for you, not the ones that you try to force open yourself. Because purpose is discovered

by movement, not paralysis. Psalm 3723 says, steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Remember, calling becomes clear as you walk. Take the next step. Now, this is the non-negotiable I just really want you to understand to fulfill your calling, and that's obedience. There is really no way that you can be in the full will of God for your life without obedience. It's just not going to happen. Esther obeyed, and God saved a nation. Mary obeyed, and Christ entered the world.

Joseph obeyed and preserved Israel. Obedience unlocks destiny. Why? Because we serve a free God. God is not going to force you to do anything. He wants you to do it yourself. He's asking you to walk in obedience out of complete freedom because he wants you to choose to obey him. He wants you to choose to listen to him and to trust him. And the price of disobedience is actually high too. We actually see this in the Bible too. We see Jonah. He ran away.

from the calling to go preach to Nineveh, he went the other way. He went to Tarshish, ended up on a boat that was about to sink because it was in a life-threatening storm. He almost died. He needed to be thrown overboard because the sailors were going to die. And what happened to Jonah? He ended up in the belly of a great fish for three days. All of this would have been completely avoidable if Jonah just listened to God from the beginning and obeyed. And Moses, God told Moses to go speak to a rock.

But Moses was angry and frustrated, so what did he do? He struck the rock instead because he disobeyed a clear instruction. Do you know what happened? God told them that he would never enter into the promised land. Isn't that so sad? mean, Moses was still loved and he was still chosen and he was used by God, but because he disobeyed, his destiny became limited. So our obedience opens doors for us, but our disobedience delays them and they actually hinder the potential

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impact and growth and joy that we can see in our life. So when we disobey, we can really miss the call of God in our life. And we just need to be mindful of why are we disobeying? Is it because we're scared? Is it fear? Is it anger? Do we have unconfessed sin that's maybe keeping us away from God's best? We need to kind of reflect on our life and see what is causing me to disobey God and what can I give up that I need to do? What sort of attachments maybe that I'm holding on to or comforts?

Or is it a relationship that maybe God is asking me to lay down and to follow him? These are important decisions we need to make. really, again, unlocking your full potential in calling won't be revealed until you obey and do what God is asking you to do. What is it that you need to lay down? Because you're going to have to do something. You're going to have to sacrifice something. It's going to be uncomfortable. Don't forget, there's a narrow road that we are called to. But if you really want to experience the fullness that God has for you, your full...

calling, your full potential, you're going to have to lay these things down and you're going to have to enter into the presence of God. You're going to have to risk your life. Yes, you're going to have to be uncomfortable. Yes, you're going to have to take risks and face your fears. But guess what? God is with you, just like he was with Moses and Joshua and David and Esther. He's with you. So all these heroes of faith, they never felt ready when they were called, right? They did. They felt scared, but they did it anyways. You won't ever feel ready for anything.

It's okay. Don't worry because God equips you. I'm sure you've heard this saying before, right? That God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. And it's so true. And we see this over and over and over again in Scripture. And He gave Esther a favor before the king. Esther didn't do anything magical herself. She trusted God, she believed, and she took a step of faith. But God is the one that gave a favor to her and to the king. Same with David. God gave David favor before Goliath.

God gave Moses the ability to speak even when he couldn't. And God gave Mary the grace to bear what she could not even comprehend. See, God supplies what obedience requires of us. He's not looking for perfection. He's looking for someone to say, here I am, Lord, use me. God is looking for availability over ability. He's looking for someone who's totally surrendered without a strategy. It's okay. So if you're asking the Lord, what is my calling, God? Show me, what do you want for my life?

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Know that your calling will be revealed to you step by step, not all at once, but where do you need to say yes to God today? What obedience do need to take today that's being asked of you? Because your calling will be revealed layer by layer every time you show up and you obey. So ask yourself, am I obeying really what God has placed in front of me right now? Am I doing the thing that I know He's asking me to do or asking me to give up or asking me to move forward for?

When you show up faithfully every day, God reveals your tomorrow and the next day because that's how His revelation works. Thanks for joining me on the Bible Made Real podcast. If today's episode encouraged you, make sure to hit follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave us a review on Apple podcast. Your feedback helps us to reach more listeners. You can visit www.CathyAbraham.com to access free Bible study tools and sign up to receive my free weekly devotionals.

straight into your inbox. You can also follow me on Instagram and TikTok at KathyAbidingLight for daily encouragement and behind the scenes content and updates. I'll see you in the next episode.