"What's Next?" (Daniel Ryan Day)

TITLE: What's Next: Your Dream Job, God's Call, and a Life That Sets You Free
AUTHOR: Daniel Ryan Day
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2019, (131 pages).

Transitions are a way of life. For people at particular junctures, the question of "What's Next" is particularly exciting or distressing. For Christians, another way of asking the same question is "What is God's will for me at this time of my life?" Many people have grappled with this question from different angles. This question is also related to the topics of calling and purpose in life. Author Daniel Ryan Day begins with his own story of how circumstances and choices impacted the decisions he made. He had wanted to be a professional pilot but never sent in any application to the Air Force Academy. He don't know what his future looks like and constantly seeks answers to his search for the next thing. He poses several scenarios of this predicament. If one belongs to "Team Senior," one has to decide what to do after the senior year of their academic program. If one is in "Team College," the challenge is to decide on which program of study. If one belongs to "Team Rut," then the question is how they could find a right fit between their aspirations and jobs. Those belonging to "Team Deck-of-Cards" will have to depend on what comes their way, especially unforeseen circumstances, before they decide. The rare breed of people in "Team Hero" would take care of the interests of others before their own. Using two guidelines to determine the next step, DRD looks at purpose and fulfillment as criteria for determining our calling. He calls this team as "Team Called." In order to get our spiritual bearings right, he begins with the Bible. Such calling is neither about some special "high calling" related to Church work. Neither is it about a special job. It is something way beyond our popular definitions of dream jobs and higher callings.


Calling is not about our "dream jobs" as demonstrated in the lives of Moses and Jonah. We learn of Moses having his personal version of dream job being overturned by God's specific calling for him to lead Israel out of Egypt. Likewise Jonah didn't get what he wished for. Instead, he eventually did what he personally did not want to do. Rather looking at personal whims and fancies, Day urges us to think about what is "good and perfect" from God's perspective. Do we trust in God's wisdom and purpose? How about seeing our calling in terms of God's role as Father and us as His children? Gradually, we learn that calling is more about character instead of career; more about dedication instead of a dream job; and more about faithfulness in our general calling instead of being distracted by an endless search for a specific calling. Of all the 148 uses of the word "called" in the New Testament, we learn that calling is more about a way of living. This way is linked to the greatest commandment of loving God and loving our neighbours. It is about making a difference in the lives of our communities. It is about learning to live in the Spirit rather than the flesh. Incidentally, we also need to ask how much is our hunger for a specific calling more of the flesh? Some principles that Day highlights are worth pondering more upon:

1. It is God who initiates the calling; we do the listening;
2. God calls the faithful;
3. We are called to a lifestyle instead of some specific career;
4. Calling is about trust;
5. Don't be surprised that calling is not to some dream job;
6. Whatever the calling, God will be with us;
7. Be careful not to say "no" to God when He calls. (Remember Jonah?)
8. It is not necessarily to be gifted or qualified in order to be called to do something;
9. Calling may mean some kind of sacrifice;
10. Calling is more about God's glory;
11. We are called to demonstrate God's character to others

The concluding part of the book includes some guidelines and questions for us to probe the principles above. Exercises include listing down our likes and dislikes; testing ourselves using Enneagrams or DISCs tests; finding mentors; asking questions; knowing oneself; redefining what success means; etc.

My Thoughts
This is a surprisingly good book. From the beginning, it may read like any other books on calling and purpose. The further we read, and as we understand the futility of searching for some "dream job," we would realize that our conventional ideas about calling being some "full-time work" or a specific career are more secondary than ever. There are three things I like about this book.

First, calling is external. This book reaffirms the principle that calling is from Someone higher and bigger than ourselves. This means we should spend less time worrying about our small concerns and small world. Ideas about "dream jobs" often glorify our personal preferences. As Christians, we need to be reminded about our allegiance to Christ. Mother Teresa has said that our calling is primarily to Christ. That should settle the bulk of our quests and restlessness about what to do. I appreciate Day's using the lives of Moses and Jonah to demonstrate the point that we are often called to do things that are opposite of our personal desires.

Second, calling is relational. Sometimes, we think of calling in terms of some career or goals to be achieved. Instead, the author reminds us that we are called toward a lifestyle, a way of living that involves the enrichment of the community we live in and the edification of the body of Christ. The love commandments,  the parables about loving our neighbours; the fruits of the Spirit, the spirit of the keeping of the commandments; etc, are all presented to help us live in peace and harmony with one another. Whatever work we are called into doing, these relational and spiritual attributes are to be present. In fact, why not see the "called" work we are in as opportunities to practice these virtues?

Third, calling is growing into Christlikeness. This is something often marginalized or even forgotten. We cannot make our calling larger than God Himself. If Christ is the focus of all our attention, we need to become too worried about the lack of clarity with regards to what we do or will be doing in the future.

I recommend this book for general reading. For those who are still searching for what they ought to be doing, this book don't just give us answers to aid our seeking, it gives us questions to guide our asking. Do so with lots of prayer and see how God answers our asking, honours our seeking, and responds to our knocking.

Daniel Ryan Day co-hosts the "Discover the Word" radio program at RBC Ministries. He also works as a digital media producer at Our Daily Bread.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Discovery House Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.