Avodah: Finding Your Spiritual Ikigai Through Work, Worship, and Service

"Your calling is not simply what you do. It is who you become as you faithfully respond to where God is leading you." — Vic Clesceri

For decades, I've been fascinated by the question that nearly everyone asks at some point in life: Why am I here?

Some ask it in their twenties as they begin their careers. Others ask it in midlife after achieving everything they once pursued. Many ask it after loss, retirement, disappointment, or unexpected change. I began asking it when I became a parent. Regardless of when it comes, the question remains the same.

What is my purpose?

The Japanese concept of Ikigai has helped millions explore this question by examining four intersections: what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid to do.

It is a remarkable framework, one that I used for twenty years, along with other Japanese wisdom. I wrote an article about this last year.

But as I studied Scripture over the years, I became convinced that something essential was missing. Purpose is not ultimately discovered by looking inward. It is discovered by looking upward. That's why I created Avodah Spiritual Ikigai. Not to replace Ikigai, but to complete it.

Why Avodah?

The Hebrew word Avodah (עֲבוֹדָה) is one of the richest words in Scripture. It carries three meanings simultaneously:

• Work

• Worship

• Service.

Modern culture separates these ideas. We work Monday through Friday. We worship on Sunday. We serve when we volunteer. A life of routine. A life compartmentalized. A life checking boxes.

Hebrew thinking never separated them. To work faithfully was worship. To worship sincerely required service. To serve others was one of the highest expressions of worship. There was no divide between the sacred and the secular.

Everything belonged to God.

• Adam practiced Avodah while tending the Garden.

• The priests practiced Avodah while serving in the Temple.

• Nehemiah practiced Avodah while rebuilding Jerusalem.

• Paul practiced Avodah while making tents.

Their occupations differed, yet their worship remained the same.

This changes everything. If work becomes worship, then every meeting matters. Every customer matters. Every difficult conversation matters. Every leadership decision matters. Every act of integrity matters.

Our careers become ministries. Our influence becomes stewardship. Our success becomes an offering. We glorify God in the process.

Why Spiritual Ikigai?

Most purpose frameworks ask: What do I want?

Avodah asks: Lord, what do You desire?

That one shift changes everything. Most career planning begins with ambition. Spiritual discernment begins with surrender.

• One asks, "How can I build my life?" The other asks, "How can my life glorify You?"

• One pursues success. The other pursues faithfulness.

• One seeks personal fulfillment. The other seeks faithful obedience.

Here's what I've discovered through my own journey. For years, I chased achievement because I believed accomplishment would eventually produce purpose. Like many leaders, I climbed mountains, pursued promotions, built organizations, and measured progress by goals achieved.

Those experiences weren't wasted. God used every one of them. But eventually He taught me something I could never have learned through success alone.

Purpose isn't something we create. Purpose is something we discover.

And discovery only happens when we become willing to surrender our own agenda.

When I stepped away from corporate leadership, it wasn't because I had every answer. It was because I believed God was asking me to trust Him more than my own plans. That journey eventually led to The Surrender Project.

It led to writing. It led to teaching and advising around the world. It led to coaching leaders who were asking the very same question I had wrestled with:

"Lord, what do You want me to do with my life?"

Ironically, I found that the less I pursued success for its own sake, the more meaningful success became. The less I focused on building my own kingdom, the more opportunities God entrusted to me. The less I tried to control every outcome, the more clearly I could see His hand at work.

I've come to believe that God rarely reveals our entire calling all at once. Instead, He invites us into a relationship of continual discernment. One faithful step. One surrendered decision. One open door. One act of obedience.

Over time, those seemingly ordinary moments become an extraordinary life. That's why I call this Spiritual Ikigai. Because our deepest purpose is not found by looking further inward. It is found by looking upward.

By not asking, "What do I want to become?"

But courageously praying, "Lord, who did you create me to become?"

I'm convinced that our greatest fulfillment isn't found when we achieve our ambitions. It is found when our joy, gifts, calling, and trust in God's provision align with His purposes.

That's where work becomes worship. Leadership becomes service. Success becomes stewardship. And life becomes Avodah.

One of the greatest mistakes people make is trying to determine their future before discerning God's voice.

We ask, "What career should I choose?"

God often asks, "Will you trust Me first?"

Calling is rarely downloaded all at once. It unfolds.

• Abraham wasn't shown the destination.

• Moses wasn't given forty years of details.

• David wasn't crowned immediately.

The disciples simply heard, "Follow Me."

Calling is usually discovered while walking with God, not waiting on Him.

The Four Foundations of Avodah

What Do You Enjoy?

Joy Reveals Design.

Joy is more than happiness. It is often God's fingerprint.

• The activities that energize you.

• The conversations that make time disappear.

• The problems you naturally enjoy solving.

• The people you naturally gravitate toward.

The opportunities that leave you feeling more alive than exhausted. These may all be clues pointing toward God's design for your life.

Joy doesn't prove your calling, but it frequently illuminates it. God rarely wastes the passions He placed within us. More often than not, He uses them to draw us toward the people, places, and opportunities where He intends us to serve.

That doesn't mean every enjoyable activity is your calling. Every calling requires sacrifice, perseverance, and seasons of uncertainty. Yet even in those seasons, there is often a quiet joy that reminds us we are walking where God intended us to walk.

Too often, we dismiss our joy because it seems ordinary or assume everyone experiences the same passions we do. But God created each of us uniquely. What consistently brings you alive may be one of His earliest clues about how He designed you to impact the world.

The question isn't merely: "What do I love doing?"

It's: "Why did God wire me this way?"

And perhaps an even better question is: "How might God want to use what brings me joy to serve others and glorify Him?"

When you begin asking that question, joy becomes more than an emotion. It becomes a window into God's design and the beginning of discovering your purpose.

What brings you joy?

What Are Your Gifts?

Stewardship Reveals Responsibility.

Scripture teaches that every believer has received gifts.

Some lead. Some teach. Some encourage. Some create. Some organize. Some shepherd. Some build. Some innovate. Some listen. Others bring wisdom, discernment, hospitality, or generosity to those around them.

Our gifts were never intended for personal significance. They were entrusted to us for Kingdom significance. Every gift has purpose because every gift has a Giver.

They are not simply talents to admire or abilities to monetize. They are resources God has placed in our hands to steward faithfully and to use in ways that reflect His love, advance His Kingdom, and serve others.

The question isn't: "What am I good at?"

The better question is: "What has God entrusted to me that others need?"

That subtle shift changes everything. Instead of pursuing recognition, we pursue responsibility. Instead of asking how our gifts can elevate us, we begin asking how they can encourage, equip, and impact those around us.

God rarely gives gifts for our benefit alone. He gives them so that, through us, others might flourish. Gifts become purpose when they are surrendered. When we place them in God's hands, they become far more than personal strengths. They become instruments of service, stewardship, and lasting Kingdom impact.

What are your gifts?

Where Is He Calling You to Serve?

Calling Reveals Mission.

Calling is much bigger than a job. It answers a deeper question: "Who am I becoming?" Some people confuse career with calling. A career is what you do. A calling is why you do it.

• Teaching can be a career. Or a calling.

• Sales can be a career. Or a calling.

• Leadership can be a career. Or a calling.

• Parenting can be a calling.

• Owning a business can be a calling.

• Serving in your church can be a calling.

The difference isn't the title. It's the heart. Calling is where your obedience meets God's invitation. Sometimes it changes your profession. More often, it transforms your perspective within your profession.

It is less about finding the perfect position and more about faithfully stewarding the opportunities God places before you. Sometimes God changes your profession. More often, He transforms your perspective within your profession.

The teacher sees every lesson as an opportunity to shape lives. The salesperson sees every customer as someone worthy of dignity and care. The executive views leadership as stewardship rather than status. The entrepreneur begins building more than a business—they begin building people.

Calling is not measured by the size of your platform or the prestige of your title. It is measured by your willingness to faithfully serve where God has planted you today.

As you continue discerning your purpose, don't simply ask, "What should I do next?"

Instead ask, "Where is God already at work, and how is He inviting me to join Him?"

Because when your work aligns with His invitation, your career becomes more than a profession. It becomes a mission.

Where are you being called to serve?

Trusting His Provision

Faith Reveals Freedom.

This may be the most difficult circle of all. Because surrender requires trust. Many people know their calling. Fear simply keeps them from pursuing it.

This is where I stumbled for many years.

• "What if I fail?"

• "What if I can't provide?"

• "What if I disappoint people?"

• "What if I misunderstood God's direction?"

Those are understandable questions. We've all wrestled with them. Yet throughout Scripture, God consistently calls people beyond certainty and into dependence upon Him.

He asks us to trust before we fully understand. To obey before we have all the answers. To take the next faithful step, even when we cannot see the entire path.

Provision is rarely experienced before obedience. More often, it is experienced because of obedience.

God's provision doesn't always mean wealth. Sometimes it means peace in the middle of uncertainty. Sometimes it comes through relationships He places in our lives. Sometimes it arrives as unexpected opportunities. Sometimes it is simply the strength, wisdom, and courage we need for today. And sometimes it is exactly enough for today, reminding us to depend on Him again tomorrow.

For me, provision has meant freedom, peace, joy, and in the end, fruits.

Trusting God's provision doesn't eliminate uncertainty. It transforms the way we walk through it. Provision is the confidence that wherever God calls, He already knows how He will sustain. Our responsibility is not to control every outcome. Our responsibility is to trust the One who already holds the outcome in His hands.

When faith becomes greater than fear, surrender becomes possible. And when surrender becomes possible, we discover the freedom that comes from knowing God is already providing for the journey He has invited us to take.

Will you trust in His provision? Why, or why not?

This could be the greatest obstacle holding you back from surrender. From joy. From using your gifts for the Kingdom.

The Four Intersections and The Center

The Four Intersections

These overlapping circles reveal something extraordinary.

Passion

Where your joy and gifts meet. You love it. You're gifted at it. This is where energy replaces exhaustion and where your natural abilities begin creating meaningful impact. Passion isn't simply excitement. It is often a reflection of how God uniquely designed you.

Mission

Where your joy meets God's calling. You begin making a difference. Life becomes bigger than yourself as your gifts are directed toward serving others and advancing something greater than your own ambitions. Purpose becomes rooted in contribution rather than achievement.

Profession

Where your gifts meet God's provision. Your work creates value. Others benefit. Resources follow. Here, your God-given abilities become a means of serving others while allowing Him to provide for your needs. Your work becomes an opportunity to faithfully steward what He has entrusted to you.

Vocation

Where God's calling intersects with His provision. You begin living the life He prepared specifically for you. Not someone else's. Yours. This is where faith, purpose, and stewardship come together. Your vocation becomes more than a career. It becomes an ongoing expression of worship, service, and faithful obedience to the One who called you.

The Center: Avodah

Traditional Ikigai places purpose at the center. Avodah places surrender there instead.

Why?

Because purpose is not something we manufacture. It is something we discover through a life surrendered to God. When surrender becomes the center of our lives, everything else begins to find its proper place.

Notice what surrounds the center.

Hope

God is already working ahead of you. Even when you cannot see what lies around the next corner, He has already gone before you, preparing the path and orchestrating what you cannot yet understand.

Trust

Even when you cannot see. Trust is choosing to believe God's character when His plan is not yet clear. It is the confidence that His wisdom is greater than our own.

Faith

Walking before certainty. Faith is taking the next faithful step without needing to know every detail. It is believing that obedience today will reveal tomorrow's direction.

Belief

Remaining anchored in His promises. Belief is the unwavering conviction that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, regardless of what our circumstances may suggest.

These aren't separate virtues. They are the spiritual roots that nourish everything else. They anchor us when life becomes uncertain, strengthen us when surrender feels costly, and continually draw us back to the One who gives our lives purpose.

Without them, purpose becomes performance. Success becomes identity. Achievement becomes an idol.

With them, purpose becomes worship. Leadership becomes service. Work becomes ministry.

And every area of life becomes an opportunity to faithfully glorify God through Avodah—our work, our worship, and our service.

A Journey, Not a Destination

One of the greatest misconceptions about calling is that it is discovered once. Calling is continually discerned. It is not a single moment of clarity, but a lifelong journey of listening, trusting, and responding to God's leading.

God prepares us in seasons. Some seasons teach. Others stretch. Others prune. Others multiply. Every season has purpose, even when we don't immediately understand it.

• The seasons of waiting cultivate patience.

• The seasons of struggle deepen our dependence.

• The seasons of growth expand our capacity.

• The seasons of blessing remind us of God's faithfulness.

Nothing is wasted in God's economy. Every experience becomes part of His preparation for what comes next.

What season are you in?

Just because your assignment changes doesn't mean your calling has. Your role may change. Your title may change. Your location may change. Even your profession may change.

But the deeper calling God has placed on your life often remains remarkably consistent, expressed through new opportunities, new relationships, and new seasons of influence. The key is not to chase the next assignment. It is to remain faithful in the one God has placed before you today.

As we continue walking with Him, our calling becomes clearer, not because God is changing His mind, but because He is continually shaping our hearts to become the people He created us to be.

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My Journey to Avodah

When I left corporate leadership to start The Management Sherpa, many people asked if I was nervous. The truth is that I wasn't walking away from something. I was walking toward Someone.

• Every organization I've served...

• Every classroom I've taught...

• Every leader I've coached...

• Every church I've spoken in...

• Every book I've written...

• Every framework I've developed...

Whether Avodah Spiritual Ikigai™, SPADES™, The Human-Centered Organization™, or The Surrender Project, they all point to the same conviction.

People flourish when they discover that their work can become worship. That leadership can become service. That success is found not in accumulation, but in faithful stewardship.

Your Invitation

Spend time this week reflecting on these questions.

• Where do I experience the deepest joy?

• What gifts has God repeatedly confirmed in me?

• Where is He inviting me to serve today?

• Am I trusting His provision more than my own plans?

Purpose is rarely found in chasing success. It is found in pursuing obedience. As your trust in God's provision begin to intersect, you don't simply discover what you were created to do. You discover who God created you to become.

That is Avodah. Work. Worship. Service.

One surrendered life, lived for One greater purpose.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." — Colossians 3:23

Have a great life on purpose! Peace and blessings.

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