I’ve been analyzing my faith journey a lot lately. Am I growing? Am I growing complacent? How do I know that I am fully trusting God with the things that I cannot see? How do I know that I am fully trusting God with the things that I am hoping for? One thing He is teaching me is that my faith must extend to every area of my life – including the workplace.
I was listening to a sermon a few days ago and the message was centered around being a witness for Jesus Christ in the workplace. The preacher focused on the scenario of the Christian believer placed in a workplace environment with a majority of non-believers. He encouraged the listener to lead with love and exemplify Christ at all times with hopes that the non-believer would speak up about the difference they saw in the believer’s actions and eventually develop a trusting relationship to introduce the Gospel.
For a moment, I was saddened by the fact that I work with several people who all profess to know Christ. I questioned God in that moment pondering the idea of being a witness at my job even though I work with other believers. For that moment, I thought that I was somehow missing out on evangelism and what good does it do for the kingdom if a group of believers work together Monday – Friday, 9-5pm.
God responded to my sadness with some questions and I’ve been chewing on them this week: How does my work ethic in the office reflect the strength of my faith? How does my work ethic reflect my trust in His promises? Has my work ethic encouraged my coworkers in their faith journey? Hmmm…
I really do enjoy my job. I get the chance to work the field that studied in college which is more rare than I expected after graduation. But because I have a passion for other things beyond this position, I often question God and His reasons for why I am here at this point of my journey. God, is this going to help me in the future? Did you change your mind? Will I be “stuck” here forever? In these moments of doubt, I find that my work ethic in the office reflects these feelings. I no longer give 100%. I wake up unmotivated and unenthused. My patience and grace for my coworkers is not existent. And I quickly sink into a place of distrust and frustration — proving that distrusting God does not led to confidence and security, but actually emotional despair.
So how do I get out of this pit and share my faith with my actions?
Be Great
I can always strive for excellence and give 100% when I remember who I work for. Colossians 3:23 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (NLT) This definitely has to be a daily reminder for me. It is so easy to get distracted by the praises or disappointments of my superiors.
Accept Your Failures
The hardest part about a job situation can be when we don’t succeed or meet our goals. It’s important in these moments to persevere and look at the situation as a teachable moment. Learn from it and grow forward. Remember that these moments are just like the faith journey. Because we are imperfect, there will be times when we fall short. But there’s grace and mercy to continue the race set before us; enduring because of the hope we have in Christ Jesus.
Pray, Pray and Pray Some More
How many times do you actually pray about a situation, whether it’s going extremely well or not? I have a super long commute to work (1 hr. & 15 mins on a good day) and I began to use that time to sincerely pray for my job and my coworkers individually. It’s amazing how that prayer didn’t necessarily change anyone else, but it definitely changed me. Because of it, I have experienced God in a different way which in turn has strengthened my faith.
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