“I Don’t Know What I Am Supposed to Do Next”
I was reading a news article today from the Wall Street Journal, “A Generation of Men Give Up on College, ‘I Just Feel Lost’”, which related how male enrollment in colleges has significantly declined in the last couple of years. When researchers tried to get to the cause of it, there were many reasons, as one would expect: cost (too expensive), value (will the cost be worth the career I will receive), helping family through COVID by getting a job right out of high school, but several mentioned how they felt “lost”, and don’t know what to do next, or they were waiting for something, “I’m sort of waiting for a light to come on”. They didn’t know what they want to do or be when they grow up and are currently living at with their parents working low income jobs in the meantime.
I have heard similar things. From a young man in his late 20’s who posted on social media, “what is my purpose?” Or young men (and women) I have asked (whether college bound or not), “what do you plan on pursuing?” or “what do you think God wants you to do?” Some are clear, most are not.
Our culture has done a good job of helping people see that they are unique (“you be you”) and there are many opportunities to become “whatever you want to be” (although still not enough, especially for those raised in poverty and/or are ethnic minorities). One hundred years ago you were likely to do whatever your parents did, like farming. There wasn’t an option, it didn’t matter what you liked to do, or were good at, you just did whatever the family did. These new opportunities in an industrialized world are a good improvement because we can more closely live into who God has created us to be in our private AND professional life. The challenge now is that there are so many options, young people are overwhelmed and grid locked not knowing what to do next, or they become so distracted by all the other things clamoring for their attention (entertainment, video games, drugs, alcohol), or are just apathetic and don’t care.
From a Biblical perspective, we are created in God’s image to work. The Ten Commandments included the day of Sabbath where God instructed His people to ONLY work six days a week instead of every day. As God worked for six days of creation, and rested on the seventh, so we too model this as well, working six days, and resting on the seventh. In the NT, the Apostle Paul was frustrated by the laziness of Christians who had stopped working in anticipation of the immediate return of Christ, and his response was “the one who is unwilling to work, shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10),” because hard work should be our example as believers. Work is one of our God given purposes.
The struggle for young people today is that they want to find “meaningful work,” that their work fulfills a greater purpose than just “getting a paycheck”. This should be applauded, how many generations just wanted to work to get wealthy and live comfortably. The challenge is that they are waiting for a sign or feeling or “the light to turn on” to guide them to the right path. And in the meantime they are in a holding pattern. Certainly, as Christians we can understand that God has a calling on each person, and God has created us with unique gifts and talents, and we are “created in Christ Jesus to do the good works he has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).” But perhaps this has been over thought and over complicated, we wait for a sign to do God’s good work, including that special job or career God has for me which will bring everything together (my gifts, passion, personality). It is a good thing to explore how we are created and wired by God and how this may connect with a profession or volunteering opportunities (for more info explore “S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life” by Erik Rees or “What Color is Your Parachute”). However, we often fail to see that God already has “work” for us to do wherever God has placed us. Our first “work” or purpose is to see where God wants me to serve him today, to demonstrate his love to others, to do good to those around me. This includes the job we are at, our family, our volunteering in the church or community we live, our being a good neighbor. This isn’t glamorous, however it is often in the everyday ordinary that God uses us the most, which we overlook.
If you struggle with where God is calling you, or what career, or job you should pursue, perhaps you should spend some time focusing on how God wants you serving him where you are at right now, at your current job, family, church, neighborhood,
and/or community. You may find that in doing this you will find greater satisfaction and contentment because you are doing what God has called and wired you to do right where you are instead of just waiting and holding out for the big next thing.