Embracing a Calling You Never Expected

Text Act 9:1-31; 2 Corinthians 12:1-12

Introduction

Some of God’s greatest assignments arrive unannounced. They interrupt our plans, challenge our assumptions, and stretch us beyond what we believe we can handle. Saul never expected to become Paul. He never expected to preach the gospel he once tried to destroy. And he certainly never expected that God would use both his strengths and his weaknesses to advance the kingdom.

This message is for anyone who senses God pulling them into something unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or unexpected.

Paul’s Calling

Paul’s calling stands as one of the New Testament’s most dramatic transformations. God set him apart from birth and called him by his grace, revealing his Son in him so that he might preach among the Gentiles [1]. This encounter occurred on the Damascus Road, where Paul considered his call by God as a call by grace that included the revelation of Christ in him for him to preach Christ among the Gentiles [1].

Remarkably, although Paul never explicitly calls himself a prophet, scholars have long recognized numerous parallels between his divine appointment and the calling of the Old Testament prophets, with his commissioning on the Damascus Road bearing many similarities with the callings of Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel [2]. Paul uses language reminiscent of the prophetic callings—particularly of Isaiah and Jeremiah—when he says that God had set him apart, called him by his grace, and appointed him as the apostle to the gentiles [2].

Like those Old Testament prophets, Paul recognized his inadequacies and acknowledged his dependence on God’s grace and power [2], famously declaring that “when I am weak, then I am strong” [2]. God’s extraordinary calling of Paul positioned him as one of the main apostles to take the gospel to the Gentiles and, even though Paul didn’t know it, to compose nearly half the New Testament [3].

[1] Opoku Onyinah and Paul Yaw Frimpong Manso, Apostles and Prophets: The Ministry of Apostles and Prophets throughout the Generations (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2022).

[2] Matthew D. Aernie, “Conclusion: Transformed by the Messiah: How the Damascus Road Event Shaped Paul’s Ministry,” Bible Study Magazine (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Faithlife, 2019), 11:5:43–44.

[3] Douglas Mangum and Derek R. Brown, Galatians, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

I. God Interrupts Your Journey to Reveal His Purpose

Acts 9:1–9

A. Saul was sincere, but sincerely wrong

He was passionate, educated, committed — but headed in the wrong direction.

God’s calling often begins with a divine interruption.

B. The light of Christ exposes what we cannot see

Saul thought he was serving God, but he was fighting Him.

Sometimes God must stop us before He can send us.

C. The unexpected calling begins with surrender

“Lord, what do You want me to do?” becomes the turning point of every calling.

God doesn’t call the prepared — He prepares the called.

Preaching Insight: Some of the greatest callings begin with God disrupting the path we thought we were supposed to take.

II. God Uses People to Confirm What He Has Spoken

Acts 9:10–19

A. Ananias represents the people God sends to help us walk into destiny

Saul needed someone to pray, guide, and affirm him.

No calling is walked out alone.

B. God often calls unlikely people to help unlikely people

Ananias feared Saul, but obeyed God.

God will send the right voices at the right time.

C. Your calling becomes clearer in community

Saul receives sight, strength, and spiritual impartation through fellowship.

God uses the church to shape the called.

Preaching Insight: The calling you never expected will require relationships you never imagined.

III. God Empowers You to Walk in What You Never Thought You Could Do

Acts 9:20–31

A. Saul immediately begins doing what he was once afraid of

He preaches Christ boldly.

God equips you for what He calls you to.

B. Opposition is confirmation, not cancellation

Saul faces threats, suspicion, and resistance.

A God‑given calling will always attract spiritual pushback.

C. God positions you where your voice will matter most

Saul’s influence grows as he walks in obedience.

The church is strengthened because one man embraced an unexpected calling.

Preaching Insight: When God calls you, He also sustains you — even when others doubt you.

IV. God Uses Your Weakness to Display His Strength

2 Corinthians 12:1–12

A. Paul’s calling included both revelation and limitation

He saw visions and revelations — but also carried a “thorn.”

Calling does not eliminate struggle.

B. God allows weakness to keep us dependent

“My grace is sufficient for you.”

The unexpected calling is sustained by unexpected grace.

C. Your weakness becomes a platform for God’s power

Paul boasts in weakness because it magnifies Christ.

God uses broken vessels to pour out perfect strength.

Preaching Insight: The calling you never expected will require a strength you do not possess — but God does.

Conclusion: Embracing the Unexpected

Saul never expected to become Paul. He never expected to preach. He never expected to suffer. He never expected to lead the early church. He never expected to write Scripture. He never expected to be used by God the way he was.

But he embraced the calling he never expected — and the world was changed.

Call to Action: What unexpected calling is God placing before you today? What interruption is God using to redirect your life? What weakness is God turning into strength?

Final Charge: Step into the calling you never expected — because God has already prepared the grace you will need.