What does it mean to be called by God?

How do you know if it’s God speaking or just a voice in your head?

Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?

The Echo Within: Finding Your True Calling by Robert Benson is a little book taking on a big subject: the calling of God on your life. I suspect this book will be given to many a graduate in June.

As a writer, I enjoyed following Benson on his journey to find what he was to do with his life. He bounced from job to job before settling into writing professionally. Much of the book is his personal account of how he found peace and confidence in the desire of his heart.

As much as I enjoyed the storytelling and lovely writing, I didn’t care for some of his advice. You know me, I can be… selective.

If it were me advising you about listening to the “voice within,” as Benson writes, I would be sure to tell you that it’s imperative to have the Holy Spirit within you first and that can only be achieved by knowing Christ. Benson does not make this clear when he writes:

There is within each of us an echo of the Voice of the One Who whispered us into being. We must listen for that echo and to that echo; we must listen fiercely and faithfully and fearlessly. Within the echo of the Voice that spoke us into being is the sound of our own true voice.

That last part on the end (the part I put in italics) makes me cringe. In the hands of the wrong person, or reader, it could be understood to mean “I am God.” Please don’t make me explain how wrong that thinking is.

I also didn’t care much for his ease with tossing around the term born again as if one can be reborn with every new discovery in life and personality.

Born again is a phrase we hear sometimes from church folks. It is a way to talk about their spiritual life, and I understand that. Born again is also a way to describe what happens when something begins to shape us in a new way.

Oh dear. What to do with this? *sigh* We church folk didn’t come up with the term born again, Jesus did. Read John 3. It’s all there. (And it’s important stuff, make no mistake. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.)

Okay, I think I better stop there or WaterBrook isn’t going to send me any more free books to review.

If you are inclined to give The Echo Within: Finding Your True Calling as a gift, I advise you to package it with a Bible. I’m just sayin’. You may read it and get a totally different vibe than I.