STXWM Blog

 I do not work in a church.  I am involved in ministry full-time, but I also work a secular job to provide for my family.  I don’t care where you work, whether it be in a church or out; if you work with people, it can be difficult.  

Feeling called to ministry, I have asked God to deliver me from my secular jobs many times in the past.  I’m sure many of you can relate.

For a little history, in my adult life, I have worked in retail, child care, job-site safety, management, custodial services, hospitality, social work, and education.  I have had careers, and I have had times when I had several part-time jobs to make ends meet.

I say all of this to emphasize that no matter what the working situation I feel for you, except for food service.  I’ve never done that, but you guys are my heroes.  I never had the courage it takes to wait tables.

If you absolutely love your job and never experience conflict or difficulty there, that is amazing, and I am so happy for you, but this particular blog may not resonate with you.

I want to address those who have known long nights crying out to God to deliver you from a situation that, though it meets a need, is a source of stress and distress in your life. 

As my heart has struggled lately with a similar unrest, God brought me to the book of Job.  HAHA  I do not compare my job situation with the sufferings of Job, by the way.  This is just where God led me for some clarity.  I have struggled with the book of Job through the years.  Sometimes, when I read parts of the Bible, I find myself going to the Lord and asking Him to help me understand why He responded in certain ways and did things the way He did.  I read the Bible from the human perspective of “what if that were me.”  How would I want God to show up if I were walking through a wilderness, running for my life, or grieving the loss of all that I held dear while my health painfully faded away?  I sometimes find myself struggling with what feels like harshness in God’s replies.  I hope that does not reveal me to be a bad Christian, but I want to be honest about how I’ve struggled in case someone else is in the same place.

God’s reply to Job lasts for almost 4 chapters at the end of the book of Job.  For a little summary, Job starts the book as a rich and powerful man with friends, family, and all the comforts of an affluent life, and within the first two chapters, he loses it ALL.  His riches are stolen, his children killed, his property destroyed, and his health painfully failing.  He tries to maintain his belief in God’s goodness through it all, even with his friends and even his wife telling Him to accept that God has abandoned him.  In all of this, he understandably begins to question God.  

God’s reply at the end of the book is four chapters in which He reminds Job that He sees and understands things Job cannot and that His wisdom is perfect, even in Job’s situation.  I do not know about you, but if I were Job, I might have spent a minute or two feeling like that was not really an answer to why this had to happen, but Job, being a much more mature Christian than I am sometimes, replied with repentance.

Here is what God showed me in those chapters that I had never understood before:

1. His wisdom is perfect.  When I am in the midst of my own turmoil, it is easy for me to want God’s immediate and undivided attention to my discomfort.  It can be tempting and easy to forget that the situation is not all about me.  It is never God’s will for us to suffer, but suffering is a reality in this sinful world, and if we will allow Him, God will turn our situation for our good and His glory.  In some of the worst times of my life, God was guiding me closer to Him, and when I looked back years later, I saw that others were following me to Christ as I ran to Him.
2. You are not alone.  God has not opened a door for your provision and then pushed you through it with a “good luck” before He walks away.  If He called you to that workplace, He has come there with you.  Acknowledge Him.  Invite Him into your day.  The conflicts you are experiencing may not immediately cease, but He can bring a calm in the middle of it, even if it’s only for you.  Remember that it takes conflict for things that need to change, to change.  If there are unhealthy or unproductive dynamics at work in your workplace, this conflict may be God’s vehicle for those environments that are unhealthy for you to be healed.  
3. God is good.  Though the words of God’s replies in scripture sometimes sound harsh to me, I cannot deny the love and care in His actions.  When I am tempted to question God’s goodness, it is not out of line for God to remind me of His wisdom and love, even if I feel like the reminder is harsh.  Sometimes my heart needs correction, and I am so glad that God is not afraid to do that.  He is good.  He does restore.  He does provide.  He does offer us maturity and perspective.  He is a good God.

In the midst of your turmoil today, God wants to whisper peace.  This is not the kind of peace that comes with knowing your two-week notice has been delivered, and you are just riding out the remainder of your time.  This is not the peace of finality and release, but one of knowing that you do not walk into that place alone.  You never have and you never will.

For some, God will provide something different, maybe even something better, but for some, He will place His hand on our shoulders and say, “Peace, my daughter.  I have called you to this place.”  To those, He will cause peace to reign in the midst of the conflict.  He will calm His child while the storm rages if we allow ourselves to surrender to His calm.

Lord, I give you this day.  I ask that you help me to do whatever I lay my hand to for your glory and to the best of my ability with a joyful heart.  I thank you for the financial stability you have provided for my family through this work.  I thank you for the opportunity to use the strength and talents you have given me to provide a useful service to others.  I thank you today for the privilege of every new relationship, professional or personal, that has come from this work opportunity, and I ask that you would help me to honor You in all the ways I interact with those I work with.  For the times I have been tempted to despair or doubt Your goodness, I ask for Your forgiveness.  For those relationships I have jeopardized with harsh words or poor attitudes, I humbly ask for your grace and mercy.  I know that even as a seasoned believer, I still need a Savior.  I bring all of this to your feet, Lord, and I ask that you help me to go forward walking closer with you than I did yesterday.

Amen.

by Stephanie S.