You Asked For Easy, But You Got a Calling

KEY VERSES:

• Luke 1:26–38
• Psalm 90:17
• Psalm 5:12

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. We all want “easy” – but life (and Christmas) rarely is
   
   • Christmas comes with pressure: money is tight, schedules are nuts, family can be complicated, and grief or loneliness gets louder.
   • We wish this season felt calm and smooth… but often we’re barely hanging on.
   • Big idea: we keep asking God for “easy,” but what He actually gives us is a calling.
2. What a “calling” really is (and isn’t)
   
   • Calling isn’t just for pastors, missionaries, or “super-spiritual” people.
   • Calling = the place where your real life meets God’s purpose.
   • God has a calling for your life right in the middle of your questions, stress, and uncertainty.
   • “I’m not ready” doesn’t disqualify you—God regularly calls the unready and the uncomfortable.
3. God starts big stories in small, ordinary places (Luke 1:26–29)
   
   • Mary is a teenager, poor, from a tiny town no one cared about (Luke 1:26–27).
   • Nothing about her résumé screams “world-changer,” but God chooses her anyway.
   • The angel greets her: “You who are highly favored. The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
   • We often see ourselves as ordinary or unimportant—but God says we are deeply loved and highly favored.
   • God still starts big stories in “small” places: small towns, normal homes, regular jobs, messy families.
4. You are more favored than you feel (Psalm 90:17; Psalm 5:12; Luke 1:30)
   
   • God’s favor isn’t about having a perfect life; it’s about His presence and love resting on you.
   • “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us.” (Psalm 90:17)
   • God surrounds His people with favor like a shield. (Psalm 5:12)
   • The angel repeats it to Mary: “You have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30) — because we need that reminder on repeat.
5. God’s call shows up in uncomfortable packaging (Luke 1:31–37)
   
   • Mary’s calling: carry and give birth to Jesus (Luke 1:31–33).
   • She has real questions: “How will this be… since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
   • God’s answer: the Holy Spirit will do what you can’t; no word from God will ever fail. (Luke 1:35–37)
   • Obvious fallout: relational tension with Joseph, town gossip, family confusion, lifelong reputation issues.
   • Following God doesn’t always make life smoother; sometimes it makes the tension spike before things get better.
   • Like a badly wrapped gift, God’s calling doesn’t always look pretty—but what’s inside is worth it.
6. How Mary models a healthy response to calling (Luke 1:38)
   
   • Posture of surrender: “I am the Lord’s servant” — she doesn’t cling to her plan first.
   • Trust without all the answers: “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)
   • She doesn’t get a 10-step plan, a safety net, or guarantees about how people will respond.
   • Obedience over comfort: she steps into something that will be socially awkward, emotionally painful, and very costly.
   • Courage in uncertainty: she moves forward with God’s promise and presence instead of perfect clarity.
7. Your calling in the mess right now
   
   • We each carry a “calling we didn’t ask for”:
     • A broken relationship that needs mending.
     • Conflict where God is asking you to be a peacemaker.
     • Financial stress where He’s asking you to trust and stay faithful.
     • Something you’re gripping tightly that He’s asking you to release.
     • Identity, reputation, or future plans He’s asking you to place in His hands.
   • Invitation: name the calling, invite God into it, and pray Mary’s prayer over your own life.
   • Faith doesn’t avoid the mess — it finds Jesus right in the thick of it and follows Him there. Your faith was made for this.

TALK ABOUT IT:

1. When you hear the word “calling,” what do you usually think of — and how does this message reshape that idea?
2. Where in your life right now do you most feel the gap between “I asked for easy” and “I got something hard”? How might that actually be a calling?
3. Mary is described as “highly favored” even while stepping into a complicated, costly situation (Luke 1:28–30). How does that challenge the idea that God’s favor = a smooth, comfortable life?
4. Which part of Mary’s response hits you most: her surrender (“I am the Lord’s servant”), her trust (“may Your word be fulfilled”), or her courage in uncertainty? Why?
5. What is one area where you’ve been waiting for more answers or guarantees before obeying? What might it look like to take a step with the amount of light you already have?
6. How have you seen God start “big stories in small places” in your own life or in people you know?
7. What is one practical way you can choose obedience over comfort this week?
8. If you really believed that God’s presence is with you in the middle of your mess, how would that change the way you approach your current situation?

APPLY IT:

• Name your “unwanted calling.” Write down the hard thing in front of you right now — the situation you didn’t choose but can’t avoid (relationship, health, money, work, family).
• Pray Mary’s prayer over it. Literally pray: “God, I am Your servant. May Your word and Your will be fulfilled in this part of my life.” Say it daily for a week.
• Swap “easy” for “purpose” in your prayers. Instead of only praying, “God, make this easier,” add, “God, show me Your purpose in this, and help me follow You through it.”
• Act on one uncomfortable obedience step. Make the phone call, apologize first, start the counseling, set up a budget, apply for the job, have the hard conversation — one concrete step of faith.
• Remind yourself you’re favored, not forgotten. When your brain goes to “I’m alone” or “God must be mad at me,” counter it with: “I am highly favored and God is with me,” like the angel told Mary.
• Tell someone what you’re walking through. Share your “calling in the mess” with a trusted friend, group, or pastor and ask them to pray for courage and clarity.
• Look for God in the ordinary. Ask, “Where might God be starting something big in this small, normal corner of my life?” Pay attention in your home, workplace, and everyday rhythms.
• Release your need for a full plan. Practice obeying the next step instead of obsessing over all ten. Ask, “What’s my next faithful step today?” and do that.