The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

discarding the voice as a dream. Some flee their calling their
whole lives, avoiding that small persistent voice or staying
busy enough to miss it. Many don’t even take the time to
listen in the first place. But the ones who do, those whose
stories we remember, step out of hiding and say those six
brave words: speak, for your servant is listening. It’s as
much an act of vulnerability as it is one of availability.
As children, we understand the world is a place that
needs our gift, a place that is full of mystery and
opportunity. We relish these facts. But as adults, we ignore
such silly things; and for a time, it works. We go through
life, focused on comfort and security and social stature, but
as we continue ignoring the call that beckons our souls to
awaken, we grow restless. And the voice grows louder until
one day it is unbearable.
The story of Samuel is not a case for how calling comes
—that voice sounds different to every ear. The point is that
sometimes, we have to learn how to hear in the first place. If
calling didn’t come naturally to a young boy in ancient
Israel, how much less will it come in today’s busy world full
of noise and interruption? We must listen. But we must also
act. For the young boy who became a prophet, it was a trial-
and-error process. He got the call wrong three times before
he got it right.
It would be easy to hear this story and make the mistake
of thinking calling starts with an epiphany. It doesn’t. In
fact, clarity of calling comes more through a series of
deliberate decisions than it does through any sudden