In the church circles that I have grown up in and around, a “calling” is quite coveted. I remember hearing one missionary say several years ago that he “felt a calling on [somebody’s] life.” And I have no idea what he meant by that. The references to a “calling” probably stem from Acts 13:

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

This appears to be a good base. If you follow the story through Acts 15, you find [ESV]:

Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

Is a “calling” to be followed mindlessly? I don’t think so. The Scriptures indicate that Paul gave a lot of thought to his actions. Acts 16:6-10:

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Or I Corinthians 9:26 [ESV]:

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

“Calling” has almost become a trump card; a way to stop others from questions about motives. One of my friends recommended a short article that argues similarly. It appeared in World Magazine and is titled “Calling” vs. Choice. Here is an excerpt:

Meek [said] that reducing our hunches and desires to a “calling”  saves us the trouble of thinking, drawing on Scriptural principles, and wise understanding of the world, and absolves us of responsibility when things don’t work out well. The false spirituality and false humility of “waiting on the Lord” to avoid wrestling over a wise course of action “in the flesh” results often in sitting passively while waiting for God to drop something in our laps. Not taking risks, moving forward,  or taking decisive action could actually be a sign of cowardice or lack of faith. Dr. Meek said that he’s been around long enough to have seen far too many things that “God directed” accomplish nothing. But you can’t question failure because “God directed” the action in question.

God has given us a brain for a reason. Yes, sometimes it would be a lot easier to be told what to do. If God did that all the time, we would never learn much. Take a lesson from Daniel:

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Even though God was working, Daniel had to study to find out what that work was. Once he understood it, he applied himself in the way that he thought best.

As Christians, we share the same duty. Don’t let passivity become a crutch.