Job Satisfaction

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Prov 3:5)

---

God created you as a unique, whole, infinitely complex individual. You bring a distinctive contribution to the organization where you work. Your primary attributes are the ones where you make the most meaningful contributions through your work, and where you find the most satisfaction in your job. However you have many other minor attributes that make you uniquely you, and enable you to do your role in a way that is just slightly different to the way the next person will perform that role.

If you experience twinges of dissatisfaction or unrest in your current role – Rejoice! Rejoice that God has created you with infinitely more facets than other people recognize, or that you may realize yourself, or that you are using at this time. Prayerfully consider how you might be able to use these attributes, within the political constraints of your role, to maximize your value to your employer. If you are a manager, look for attributes in your team beyond what you hired them for. Find creative ways to allow your staff to use their talents and to express their infinitely complex beauty. 

Sometimes you may find yourself in a job where you believe your value is not fully appreciated. Or you may believe you are able to contribute more to the organization, or you feel that you would be more fulfilled if you were able to use your skills in a different role. When you focus your attention and energy on the apparent injustice or inequality of your situation it is easy to become negative and lose sight of God. If that is the way you feel today, I invite you to step back for a moment, to abandon the illusion that you are in control of this world, and reflect on God’s character. Does God change when you feel like you are a square peg in a round hole? Does God’s love for you, or the hope that you have, or your salvation disappear when you feel like your skills are being under-utilized? Did God make a mistake when he placed you in this position? Is this situation beyond God’s redemptive power? Can you trust that this job, for right now, is part of God’s perfect plan for your life? 

Whether you feel like your current job is a great fit for who you are, or you feel like your job situation is less than ideal, continue to trust in the love and care of your Heavenly Father! God says to you “my child, trust me, I am sovereign, I am in control, I love you. I have placed these people in authority over you, I have appointed their times and boundaries, I love you.” Make it your goal to please God. Give thanks to the Lord that you have been granted the privilege to participate in what God is doing in your workplace. 

What would it take in your current job to say that “I have learned to be content in this job”? 

What does it look like for you to trust in God as you go about your work? 

With what is happening in your workplace, can you identify with one Biblical character who experienced something similar? (i.e. Joseph) Re-read their story. How does their example inspire you? 

Prayer 

Gracious Father, Thank you for your love. We praise you that you are sovereign, and that you are in control. Forgive us for when we fail to trust you. Strengthen us today, so that we may live our lives pleasing in your sight. Amen 

Christ's Presence at our Workplace

What is mankind that you are mindful of them,human beings that you care for them? (Ps 8:4)

---

God delights over you! God sings over you! God rejoices over you! God loves you with a love that exceeds your expectations! You live and move and have your being in Christ. Rejoice that the transcendent, all powerful, all knowing God is personally intimate with you everywhere you go, including at your workplace and as you go about your daily routine, just as Christ is with you at church on Sunday, or in your small group.

God’s compassions are new every morning. God cannot be corrupted by what is going on around you. He is the faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Just at as the Lord faithfully provided Manna for his people when they travelled through the wilderness, God’s righteousness and justice will daily come to light in the midst of the apparent chaos of the world.

As you recognize the righteous presence of the living God in your workplace, you represent to the world around you that there is a righteousness greater than man’s. As you use the skills and talents that God has blessed you with in the daily routine of your job you are worshipping God and bringing glory to his name. As you do your work with integrity, with excellence, with diligence and with joy you demonstrate to a watching world the reality of Christ’s presence. Rely on the wisdom of God that is calling out to you in the marketplace, so that you can live a life of righteousness in your workplace.

Prayer

Father thank you that you love us, and personally intimate with us everywhere we go. May your righteousness and justice daily come to light. Help us to grasp the length and breadth and height and depth of love you have for us. Amen.

Gifted to do your work

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (Rom 11:33)

---

God delights over you! Each facet of your life wonderfully reflects His glory. God rejoices over you! God sees his love radiating as you use your spiritual gifts. God sees his love sparkling as you use the talents and skills he gave you. Each of your abilities is a precious gift God uniquely chose to bestow upon you for his honor and glory before you were born. Your abilities and talents are not something to be despised or abused. Your talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts are what make you unique.

In the Old Testament, we meet leaders like Moses, Joseph, and Gideon who are filled with the Spirit of God and with wisdom, understanding and knowledge. We also meet talented tradespeople whom God has filled with wisdom, understanding and knowledge. We see these tradespeople use their God given skills to design and build the tabernacle and all the furnishings of the tabernacle, sew the priestly garments, farm, raise cattle, herd sheep and do countless other jobs.

God created this world with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, which are part of the very of essence of God’s character. God has filled you with the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to use your talents and abilities because he loves you. God has blessed you with understanding to solve the inevitable problems that arise in your job. God has filled you with the knowledge to do what is necessary to fulfill the requirements of your job. God has provided you with the wisdom to learn and teach others the skills to do your job with excellence. 

May you live a life worthy of the Lord who has blessed you with the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to do your work. May you please the Lord in every way as you go about your day today. May every good work that you do bear fruit. Continue to grow in the knowledge of God. Be the best you that you can be today to the honor and glory of God! That is how God has gifted you, how God has created you, and who God has called you to be. 

Prayer 

Father, thank you for the unique personalities, learning styles, and interests that you have blessed each one of us with. Thank you for the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge that you have blessed us with so that we can do our jobs with excellence. Help us to do our work in such a way that your name is glorified. Amen

God's Creation

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth (Acts 17:24a)

---

Receive what you have, and what you use today with Thanksgiving. Everything you have and everything you use exists only because God created this universe. All the natural resources that form what you and I enjoy today were created by God. The individuals who skillfully take these raw materials and shape them into what we are now enjoying were blessed with their talents by God. The laws of nature which you rely upon to design and build everything you have are principles established by the Lord of Heaven and Earth when he created the universe. 

There are no little jobs, and no little people in God’s Kingdom. Every role is vitally important in God’s kingdom. Architects and engineers designing a new building use the principles of engineering that are inherent in the world God created. Construction crews use the natural resources that God created, to build a new building. Accountants brings order to the finances of a building project, just as God brought order into the universe he created. Equally important are the baristas serving coffee to the architects, engineers, accountants and the construction crew. Baristas brew coffee from coffee plants that can be traced back to the first plants God planted in the garden to feed us.

As you do your work, you are fulfilling the mandate that God gave each of us in Genesis to fill the earth and to be responsible for it. As you go about your job today acknowledge that God is the creator and Lord of all the things that you have. As you celebrate the privilege you have to use what God has created; as you discover and follow the principles of God’s world, you are constantly reminding those around you, that this is our Father’s world and not just a random collection of particles.

Prayer 

Gracious Father, we thank you for creating us, and blessing us with everything that we have. Forgive for the times when we take things for granted. Help us to live our lives in such a way that all those who are watching us know that is your world. Amen

Seeking God

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Ps34:10)

---

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. ¹

When you seek God, you are trusting in the God who created this world, and who has blessed you with the intelligence and abilities to earn and enjoy all the blessings you have. When you don’t seek God, you are saying that you, with your intelligence and your hard work have enabled the blessed life that you are now enjoying. When you seek God, you are acknowledging that God has laid out every moment of your life before you were born, and that his workmanship is marvelous.When you don’t seek God, you say that the God who created you is not able to deliver you. When you seek God you allow God to do things beyond what you can imagine. When you don’t seek God, you say that you know more than God knows.When you seek God, you will find God. When you don’t seek God, God will abandon you.

As you go about your day today, pause to reflect on the promises of God that are precious to you. Stop and give thanks to God for his faithfulness to you in the past,and his faithfulness to you today. Take time right now, to count your blessings, to name them one by one, and to celebrate all that God has done for you. God continues to be faithful to you in ways that you cannot imagine. 

Wait in hope for the Lord. God is your help and shield. In your heart rejoice, as you trust in God’s holy name. For the eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. May the Lord’s unfailing love be with you as you put your hope in God.² 

Prayer 

Lord, we praise you for walking with us through the challenges and joys of life. Forgive us today for relying on our own strength, relying on our credit cards, relying on our own wisdom and abilities, and not trusting you. As we turn our eyes on you, Lord, we ask you to continue to be a light to our paths, and a lamp to our feet. Help us to keep your word within our heart. Guard our hearts. Help us to shine brightly like the morning sun in this dark world. Amen

[1] Lamentations 3:22-25 NASB

[2] Psalm 33 20-21;2 Chron 16:9; Psalm 33:22