It means that they felt that God's will or calling was for them to go into the area of ministry, be it a missionary or just a pastor. If you would like to know God's will for your life, make sure you seek that goal with all your heart. Pray to God, and ask him to give you guidance into what he wants for your life. It should be every Christian's goal to fulfill God's will for your life, and sometimes that means breaking away from our own.
But that also probably doesn't mean giving up what you love. It may be that God's will is something that you love and/or have always loved. This is where free will comes into play. Some doors may open for you, but it can be very hard to know which doors are the ones God has opened, or doors that are simply there because of chance. Many times, more time to think about which door is the right one to follow is not a luxury. Therefore, when doors open, God wants us to be ready to step through, sometimes immediately.
To get ready for these opportunities, it is important to pray to God about this. If you feel like reading the Bible one day, go for it. I wouldn't force yourself to do anything you don't like in your life, because God also doesn't want you to be unhappy with life choices. God does want you to be sacrificial. We can't do everything. Perhaps God has led you to one major opportunity, but you'll have to give another one up for this.
I still don't know God's exact will for my life. But I am sure it involves Japanese. How do I know? I was able to produce $4269 literally in a matter of hours for me to go to Japan. It was the last day for me to pay for my trip to Japan. I knew I had to go because I had not seen a Japanese friend for two years. I hosted him (as in home stay) two years prior, and we wrote back every so often. I prayed for a long time because I thought it was over. I thought that that was it. I asked God without bias, which was hard because I was passionate about Japan, that if he did not have it in his will for me to go, then I should not go.
Through my tears and prayers I came up with a solution. My grandma could front the money, and I could get a job to pay it off. I never wanted a job during school, but I knew I had to go. Let’s get this straight-she doesn’t loan anyone money. Ever. Frankly, she doesn’t really like Japan. But I just told her it was on her, and she did say no for about an hour. She did give in, but that was after I myself had thought that it was truly over. She fronted the money. Literally, as the tour company was calling me to say she had to cancel my reservation permanently, I picked up the phone and arranged it. We even had to overnight the money because they wouldn’t take Discover.
Okay, long story. What’s my point? I had been studying Japanese in high school for three years, going on four. It was an absolute blast, and my Japanese friend and I are best friends. I know through all this that God had it in his will for me to go to Japan. The tour company let me delay my payment for over a month pas the due date, and two weeks after the late date, and even two more days after we had promised some payment. They waited that long, and my grandma said yes to an impossible question. If I had brushed those odds off, I would be stupid. It was literally impossible without God opening my grandma’s heart to let her front the money. It was clearly God's will. I know that God has it in his will that I do something in Japan. My point is that God would shove aside all human willpower and pave this road for me. He wouldn’t do it if his will was for me to make video games or be a teacher in Mexico. These are obviously not me. God will use your talents to help you achieve his will. Maybe that’s why people call it ‘God-given’ for talents.
God made you unique so that you could fulfill his will in your own way. For many, that is not ministry. Not being in ministry doesn’t mean you can’t continue practicing Christianity and spreading the Gospel. You can do it in your own subtle way, with the people you interact with everyday. So my suggestion is to look for obvious signs. And please take this one seriously-don’t ignore the world around you. For example, when it comes to colleges, if a college is rejecting you or not giving you a lot of money or maybe just not giving you attention, then it’s probably not in God’s will. There is a difference between difficulty and conscious logic. It wouldn’t make sense for Got to want you to go to College A when College B is overall better for you. The same goes with major life choices, like what you want to do.
God is calling you to do something big with your life. You have that potential. Seriously, ministry is not for everyone. If it was, we’d all be pastors. You can spread the morals, values and even the practicalities of Christianity just by being yourself. And by being yourself, you can discover what God has in store for you. I can’t emphasize prayer, and that simply means talking to God. Talk to God. He will answer.