Sacred in Every Step
Every calling becomes sacred when Christ fills it.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones takes us to 1 Corinthians 7:21–22 to unveil a liberating truth: in Christ, every believer is called. Not just pastors, missionaries, or those in formal ministry—but every man, woman, and child indwelt by Christ carries a divine calling. Even a slave in Paul’s day was not without purpose, for he was “called in the Lord.” This calling sanctifies even the most mundane or constrained earthly circumstance.
Jones challenges the artificial division between “sacred” and “secular” work. There is no second-tier citizenship in the Kingdom. The factory worker, the nurse, the stay-at-home mom, the retiree—all are called to their roles in Christ with as much dignity and mission as any clergyman. The word laity, from laos, means the chosen people of God. And God’s chosen people are chosen not only for salvation but for vocation—a daily walk of significance in whatever setting they find themselves.
This means our desks can be altars. Our conversations, commissions. Our labor, liturgy. Whether we are bound to an assembly line or bound to a calendar, we are inwardly free. Christ has made us His, and He walks out His calling through us wherever we are.
✍🏼 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You were called in Me. Not just to salvation, but to participation. I formed you with intention and placed you with precision—not one detail of your situation is outside My plan. Whether you stand behind a pulpit or beside a patient’s bed, My calling rests on you.
I do not elevate titles; I elevate trust. A slave in Paul’s day was My freedman, and a free man was My bondservant. I make sacred what the world calls ordinary. When you labor with your hands, speak with your voice, or serve in quietness, I see it all as unto Me. You are not second-class in My Kingdom. You are Mine.
Let go of the false divide between spiritual and secular. I am not limited to pulpits and pews. I dwell in your daily life—in the dishes washed, the spreadsheets sorted, the children held, the clients served. My Spirit fills the moment you offer to Me. I am your freedom in confinement, your purpose in obscurity, your dignity in toil.
Walk as one who is called. And know this: no one else can live your calling. It is uniquely yours in Me.
Scriptures referenced: 1 Corinthians 7:21–22; Colossians 3:23–24; Ephesians 4:1; Romans 12:1–2; Galatians 5:13
🧺 Real-Life Analogy
It’s like slipping your hand into a glove. At first glance, the glove might seem lifeless, ordinary, or worn—but the moment a living hand fills it, it takes on purpose, motion, and form. Your daily life, no matter how simple, becomes infused with divine purpose the moment My Spirit fills it.
🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that my calling is not limited by my career, status, or setting. You have made every place holy by dwelling in me. I embrace the dignity of my daily life, knowing that Christ in me is carrying out His calling through me. I rejoice that no title or position could ever elevate what You have already sanctified. I am Yours, right where I stand. And that is more than enough.