Replacing Our Career Identity with Divine Identity

By: Brian G. Chilton | May 22, 2022

Have you ever identified yourself with your occupation? That is a practice that I had adopted and never realized until recently. For nearly 20 years, I filled the pulpit as a pastor. I enjoyed preaching and ministering to individual needs. But I loathed business meetings and consistent committee meetings. In 2020, everything changed. God showed me that it was time to leave the church where I had been serving. Yet I found myself with great anxiety as I had no prospects, no leads, and an ominous mortgage from a newly built house. What was I to do? Why had God moved me to only leave me with no opportunities? To be quite honest, I felt as if God had abandoned me.

However, God was at work in a way that I had not expected. Through my friend Jason Kline, I learned about a possible ministry opportunity as a hospice chaplain. To be honest, I never saw myself as a chaplain, because I was known more for my speaking abilities than for my listening abilities—a trait that I am still working to perfect. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, God led me to enter chaplain ministry, a role that I have filled for nearly two years as of this writing; a role, that quite honestly, has been more fulfilling than I ever realized.

If Not a Pastor, Then Who Am I?

Through this process, something began to trouble me. Now that I was not serving a church, who was I? For so long, people had come to me with their biblical questions, yet that had stopped. For so long, I enjoyed spending time in my study with God preparing for the next Sunday morning message. But now that had also ceased. If I am to be quite forthright, my devotions and time spent with God suffered because of the dwindling time in my study.

The question continued to linger in the back of my mind, “If I am not a pastor, then who am I?” Even in my senior yearbook, when asked about what I wanted to do with my life, I posted, “I want to be a pastor of a Baptist church.” Many people asked me since then, “Why did it have to be a Baptist church?” Excellent question! The church is certainly bigger than the Baptist denomination. In my teenage naivete, I simply put the denomination I was acquainted with at the time. Some students wanted to be a physician, others a lawyer, yet I acquiesced that I wanted to be a Baptist pastor. Strange on my part, perhaps.

The Prophet Elijah’s Career Crisis

Over time, God has been moving in my life to show me a truth that I had never considered. I had associated myself with my occupation. My identity was found in what I did for a living. The prophet Elijah faced a similar crisis. Even though God had delivered him on Mount Carmel in a dazzling display of power, Elijah ran and hid in the wilderness with Jezebel threatening to kill him (1 Kgs. 19:1–4). The Lord nourished Elijah. And then Elijah traveled to a cave at Mount Horeb, which was called the “mountain of God” (1 Kgs. 19:8–9).[1] The Lord spoke to Elijah in a still small voice on the mountain, even though he expected God to speak through the fire, an earthquake, or storm (1 Kgs. 19:11–13). The Lord then gave him instructions on what he was to do from that point. Reflecting on this story (which has proven to be quite influential to me over the past few years), a few truths can be found as it relates to the identity we place in our occupation. Our career identity should be replaced by our divine identity. Now by divine identity, I am not saying that we are gods or that we reach the status of godhood. Rather, divine identity simply indicates the identity we find in our divine covenant relationship with God. Consider the following three truths which show why our divine identity should replace our career identity.

Truth #1) Understanding God’s Relationship Helps Replace Career Identity with Divine Identity

First, through God’s provisions and care, Elijah began to understand that God had a loving relationship with him. God did not call him to the ministry to fail on a divine level, even though some may see prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah as failures on a human level. Rather, God called him to be obedient. The work that was to be accomplished was in God, not Elijah. Elijah never had the power in himself to fulfill God’s calling. It was the power moving through him in God’s Spirit. The same is true for us. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me” (1 Jn. 15:5). No matter what occupation we hold, nothing of great worth can be done without the abiding presence of God. Your identity was never meant to be found in what you can do, but rather in what God can do through you.

Truth #2) Understanding our Calling Helps Replace Career Identity with Divine Identity

Second, Elijah began to better understand his calling. Like many that came before him and others that would come after him, Elijah’s anxieties came from his dependence on his abilities. He realized that Queen Jezebel was ruthless and could easily have his head on a platter. He became frightened over what could happen to him. Don’t we do the same? We have much to worry about these days. Yet, like Elijah, we should realize that we only have a few days on this planet to make an impact for Christ. Regardless of what occupation you hold, take advantage of the calling that God has placed upon you and the power of his Spirit that indwells you.

Truth #3) Understanding God’s Love Helps Replace Career Identity with Divine Identity

Finally, God reminded Elijah of his loving care. When Elijah was weak and weary, God sent his angel[2] to minister to his physical needs. He was fed and nourished. The Israelites had abandoned God’s covenant, torn down God’s altars, and killed the prophets (1 Kgs. 19:14). Elijah felt alone and abandoned by society. Yet God encouraged him with his love. Many times, our occupations become the ways in which we seek the approval of others or how we see ourselves fitting in the world. However, the love that God holds for us far exceeds the love that any human being can have for us. The aged Apostle John writes, “See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:1–2). Our identity is found in God’s loving and abiding presence in our lives.

Conclusion

If you know me well, then you know that I like to have a clear and definitive plan. I would be perfectly happy and content if God sent me an email each morning telling me what I should do each and every hour. Yet he doesn’t do such things, or at least not with me. I say this only to note that I have less clarity as to what God wants me to do with my life now than before. Will God ever use me in the pastorate again? I don’t know. Though there have been no opportunities for me on this front, will God ever use me in a teaching role? I don’t know. Will God choose to use me as a chaplain for the rest of my career? Perhaps. I really don’t know. With all the uncertainties, God has shown me one thing with certainty—God has saved me through his Son Jesus, filled me with his Holy Spirit, and placed a calling upon my life to spread his love and grace to a lost and dying world. As far as my career goes, all I know is that my identity is found in Christ … and that is enough.

About the Author

Brian G. Chilton is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Theology and Apologetics program at Liberty University. He is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast and the founder of Bellator Christi. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University and plans to pursue philosophical studies in the future. Brian is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society.

Brian has served in pastoral ministry for nearly 20 years and currently serves as a clinical hospice chaplain. Additionally, he serves as an editor for the Eleutheria Journal. At the prompting of the Lord, Brian established Bellator Christi Ministries in 2012. The ministry is aimed to provide readily available resources in theology, apologetics, biblical studies, and philosophy to those who want to know what Christianity teaches and why it should be believed. In 2019, Brian published his first book entitled the Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics. After finishing his Ph.D., Brian intends to publish more books. His areas of expertise include early NT creeds, near-death experiences, biblical reliability, the blend of divine sovereignty and human freedom, and the need for empathy.

https://www.amazon.com/Laymans-Manual-Christian-Apologetics-Essentials/dp/1532697104

Notes

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all quoted Scripture comes from the Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman, 2020).

[2] Perhaps a preincarnate manifestation of Jesus.

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