Have You Misplaced Your Calling?

Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christian by God’s unmerited favor].
1 Peter 4:10 AMP

Have you ever been to a church potluck? We had them occasionally at the church where I grew up. Mama always packed enough for our family and a little extra to share, loaded us all into the car, and headed to Sunday service. To the little foodie in me, those Sundays felt like a celebration.

I recently had a dream that I was at church standing with a friend and her family as we prepared to greet those leaving service. Service was just about to end when I noticed a lady slip out of church a little early. She was about 15-20 years my senior and relatively new to our church, and she had attended a recent women’s potluck. She told me she’d brought a small dish to share and had gone home without it. She wondered if I could help her locate it.

I stopped what I was doing and led her down the hallway to the “little kitchen” to look in places someone new to the church might be too uncomfortable to dig. I opened cabinet after cabinet until I stopped in surprise. Inside one unrefrigerated cabinet sat several forgotten dishes.

Some were empty and clean, put away as one would expect. Some had remnants of food in them, but had been put under the cabinet without being washed. Others were still filled with food, as though they’d not even been cut into, still wrapped with the plastic wrap covering to keep it fresh, only not put in a fridge for safe storage. Their contents had spoiled.

The woman noticed a glass dish that was similar to what she’d brought, but it was not hers. She said hers was slightly bigger, opaque like that one, but pink. Similar, but not the same. It wasn’t hers. I told her I would keep looking for it and get in touch with her when it was found.

“In the meantime,” I told her, “as we look together, you are getting familiar with the layout and rooms of your new church!” That was when I woke up.

When the Meaning Became Clear

As I lay in bed, I thought about the dream I’d had. I couldn’t stop thinking about those forgotten dishes. Why were they hidden away? Why had some never been shared? Why did they matter enough for God to include them in my dream?

As I prayed about the dream, I asked God to make the meaning of this one clear if He was trying to show me something. I waited only a moment before I felt revelation coming.

This older woman had brought a special dish, one of her favorites, to share with the church, but had misplaced it. The dish wasn’t valuable because it was expensive. It was valuable because it was hers. No one else had brought that dish and no one else was responsible for it.

Little by little, the Lord began unfolding the meaning of the dream. This dish represented her calling. It was unique, intended to be a blessing to other women. But she’d misplaced it and needed help finding it again so it could be used.

As I searched for her dish, I realized there were others hidden in that cabinet too. Some were clean. Some still had scraps from the last meal. Others had never been opened at all. What had once been prepared to nourish others had simply been forgotten until it spoiled. While the dishes themselves were fine, they couldn’t fulfill their purpose until they were cleaned and refilled. Until then, what remained inside would only continue to spoil as they sat in the cabinet.

The Lord doesn’t want what He has placed inside us to sit unused until it spoils. God intends these gifts and callings to be poured out for His Kingdom, then emptied, cleaned, refilled, and used again. Each calling is unique, just as every dish in that cabinet was.

A person washes a dish, symbolizing God's restoration and the beautiful gifts and calling He has placed inside every believer.

Your Dish Still Has a Purpose

Our gifts and callings are as individualized as the dishes brought to a church potluck, each designed to nourish a unique part of the body of Christ.

A dish sitting in a cabinet doesn’t stop being a dish. It simply isn’t fulfilling its purpose while it sits unused. In much the same way, our calling doesn’t disappear because we’ve neglected it. God knows exactly where we left it, and He hasn’t forgotten the uniquely beautiful gift He’s placed inside you.

What Will You Do With Yours?

What has He called you to do in this season? Is your dish empty, cleaned, and ready for Him to refill so you can share with others and be poured out again?

Maybe you’re in a season like the dish that was full but spoiled. Perhaps you were filled and ready for sharing, but life became overwhelming. Maybe fear convinced you to set your gift aside. Maybe disappointment or delay made you wonder if your calling mattered anymore. Or maybe you’ve simply drifted from what God once called you to do.Or perhaps, like the woman I met, you’ve misplaced your calling and need help finding it again. I pray that if that’s you, you’ll have the courage to search for it. Somewhere, someone is hungry for what God has placed inside you. Don’t leave your dish forgotten in the cabinet. Bring it back to the One who filled it in the first place. He knows exactly how to clean it, refill it, and place it back on the table where it can nourish His people once again.

Pray

Father, thank You for the gifts and purpose You’ve placed within me. Thank You that my calling is unique and beautiful because it comes from You. Give me the courage to pour out the wisdom, talents, and abilities You’ve entrusted to me so I can fulfill the purpose You have for my life. If there is anything holding me back or anything that has hindered the work You’ve called me to do, wash me, renew my spirit, and fill me again with fresh purpose. Help me faithfully steward the gifts You’ve given me for Your glory and for the good of others. In Jesus’ name, amen.