Rebekah Lyons: Stop Overcomplicating Your Calling

You’ve asked God for a sign. You’ve begged for clarity. You’ve prayed the same prayer a hundred different ways, hoping your calling would finally become obvious.

But what if it already is—and you’re just avoiding it?

Rebekah Lyons thinks a lot of us know exactly what we’re called to do. We’re just scared to say yes.

The bestselling author and Q Ideas co-founder says calling isn’t a mystery to be solved—it’s an invitation to obey. And if you’re waiting for a booming voice from heaven to tell you your next move, you might be missing the one that’s been whispering for years.

“Calling strips away what man thinks is important,” Lyons says. “It comes back to this purity of heart that says, ‘This is something assigned by God—and I either say yes or I ignore it.’”

Lyons isn’t speaking from theory. Her own story is one of wrestling through anxiety, career shifts and painful self-discovery. And what she’s learned is that most people aren’t confused about their calling because God is silent—they’re confused because they’re trying to skip the hard part.

“We all come to a point in our lives where what we’re doing becomes status quo,” she says. “And then we become unsettled.”

For many, that unsettling comes when they’ve already hit their milestones—graduated, got the job, maybe even started a family—and yet, something still feels off. That restlessness, Lyons says, is often the beginning of the real journey. Not toward a career, but toward a vocation.

“Vocation comes from the word vocare, which means ‘to call,’” she explains. “It’s not just a job. It’s the calling over your entire life that informs everything you do.”

Lyons encourages people to start by paying attention to what already moves them.

“Let’s identify what you’re passionate about, what you’re gifted at, what’s effortless. Let’s dig into what breaks your heart and the tensions you’ve lived,” she says.

That sounds simple, but Lyons is quick to admit the process is anything but easy. “Most of us want to skip over that part,” she says. “We don’t want to face the pain or the things that we’ve buried. But that’s all part of unearthing this thing.”

In her experience, the journey of discerning your calling often takes about 18 months of prayer, wrestling, surrender and honest self-examination.

“We’re the ones who complicate calling,” she says. “We try to meet expectations or earn approval. But calling isn’t about proving anything. It’s about listening to God and saying yes.”

This tension is felt acutely among women in the Church, where the conversation around calling can feel even more fraught.

“For so long, women haven’t even acknowledged that they have a calling,” Lyons says. “It’s been seen as something reserved for pastors or church staff. But Jesus came so that we could each have intimacy with God. We all have a seat at the table.”

That includes stay-at-home moms who’ve forgotten to consider their own passions, women in midlife transitions, and even twentysomethings who are afraid there won’t be space for both a family and a calling.

“It’s about giving permission to have this conversation—across the board,” Lyons says.

But what happens when someone does have clarity about their calling, and still feels stuck? Maybe they’ve found the thing they love, but can’t figure out how to support themselves doing it. Or worse, they feel like God is calling them toward something, and He’s just… not moving.

That, Lyons says, is the real test of obedience.

“The crazy thing is, if calling really is a whisper from God, then you have to have a Caller,” she says. “If God is the one who set your calling in motion, then He’ll be the one to see it through.”

That doesn’t mean the timing will make sense. In fact, it usually doesn’t.

“I believe there’s often a season where God holds it off for a reason,” she says. “It takes time to die to our own lives, our own wills, our own agendas. Because we still see calling as kind of a prettier version of striving.”

And that’s the shift. For Lyons, true calling looks less like ambition and more like surrender.

“Calling, to me, is obedience,” she says. “It’s obedience to something that’s usually undefined. There’s probably no one else out there doing exactly what you’re doing. You’re going to be navigating unknown waters—and it’s going to require a lot of surrender, a lot of prayer and a lot of patience.”

That answer may not trend on Instagram, but it’s deeply biblical. And Lyons says it’s also deeply practical.

“I know we’re wired to be productive,” she says. “We want to be financially secure. But sometimes God says, ‘Stop. You can do this your way, or you can do it my way. But my way will require waiting.’”

That kind of faith may feel inefficient. It may even feel irresponsible. But it’s the posture that opens us up to divine direction—and takes the pressure off needing to figure it all out.

“There becomes such a dependence on God moving His hand, and far less dependence on me completing my to-do list,” Lyons says. “Honestly, maybe I’m getting lazy—but I’d rather wait for Him to make it painfully clear. And then I’ll go.”

It’s not flashy. It won’t sell in a TED Talk. But Lyons believes this quiet, radical obedience is what leads to the life of purpose we’re all praying for.

“When we start saying that kind of prayer regularly—‘Lord, I’m listening. I’ll go where You send me’—we begin to be blown away by what He’s really up to,” she says.

And maybe, deep down, we’ve known the answer all along.