20 Bible Verses That Can Help You Discover Your Calling This Year

God knows you. He knows your struggles and your talents, and He created you for a purpose. If you feel stuck or don’t understand why you are here, then a great place to go is to God’s Word.

God gave us the Bible so we can know Him better and discover our true purpose in life. Why not make a commitment this year to ask the Lord to reveal your calling?

Pray and read the verses below and journal anything that comes to mind as you read.

Know and Believe:

• Psalms 119:105
  • “Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV).
• Jeremiah 9:24
  • “‘ ... boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’
    declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NIV).
• Jeremiah 31:33-34
  • “ ... I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest ... ”(Jeremiah 31:33-34, NIV).
• John 17:3
  • “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent … ” (John 17:3, NIV).
• John 6:28-29
  • “Then they asked Him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent’" (John 6:28-29, NIV).
• John 3:11-21
  • “Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (John 3:11-21, NIV).
• Romans 12:2
  • “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV).

Love God and Others:

• 1 John 4:19
  • “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NIV).
• Jeremiah 31:3
  • “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’” (Jeremiah 31:3, NIV).
• Matthew 22:36-40
  • “‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV).
• John 15:12-17
  • “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:12-17, NIV).
• 1 John 4:7-8
  • “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8, NIV).
• Psalm 136:26
  • “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:26, NIV).

Give Thanks:

• Psalm 9:1
  • “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1, NIV).
• Psalm 107:1, 8-9
  • “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. ... Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Psalm 107:1, 8-9, NIV).
• 1 Thessalonians 5:18
  • “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, King James Version).
• 2 Corinthians 4:15
  • “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15, NIV).
• Colossians 4:2-6
  • “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:2-6, NIV).
• 1 Timothy 4:4-5
  • “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5, NIV).
• Colossians 3:15-17
  • “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:15-17, NIV).

We can overcomplicate the process, trying to seek out a direct message from God.

Sometimes God speaks directly to people as He did in 1 Samuel 3:1-10 when He called to Samuel. But, a lot of the times, we have to learn to listen and seek answers from the Lord by spending time with Him. Only then will we recognize Him when He does call to us.

Don’t give up. Be patient. Keep praying, spending time with God and reading your Bible. Thank Him for all He has done and continues to do. He knew you before you were even born (see Isaiah 44:24, Jeremiah 1:5 and Galatians 1:15), and He will give you wisdom. All you have to do is ask (James 1:5).

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, New International Version).

Next Steps:

• To learn how to dig deeper into the verses above, read “How To Study The Bible On your Own.”
• Consider what it might look like to apply the above verses to your life and work.
• Make it a New Year’s resolution to spend more time getting to know God by studying Scripture.