I am a temp, which means that the company is using a staffing agency to fill entry-level jobs and then they choose people to hire when they are ready. I won't go into a lot of detail about that, because the focus of this post is not my job.
Being a temp is currently the context of my struggle to trust God. What do you do when you are confused about your future? Maybe you've been in a situation like this before as a temp or a seasonal worker. Nothing is promised to you except the very moment you are in right now. You have reasonable confidence that you will still have a job tomorrow, but really, anything could happen. When it seems like job opportunities are miles away, do we stay the course because we know we can make it?
I don't think that's the right approach.
We say things like, "trust God, and you will [get] _______." Fill in the blank. What is it that you are waiting for God to do for you in exchange for your undying faith? Employment? A promotion? Pregnancy? A college acceptance letter?
What if "trust God" came with a different tagline? "Trust God, and work cheerfully."
But wait, what do I "get" out of that?
Trust God, and work cheerfully. I've thought that a lot over the past few days. I've FORCED myself to think it instead of thinking "trust God and you will get hired." If I lay my faith upon a promise to get hired (a promise He never actually made) then I will have a hurt faith, a broken trust, if I do not.
If God's plan for my life was to get me hired, then I would already be an employee. I'd probably be making six figures and living on a beautiful farm with lots of Nigerian Dwarf Goats and some chickens. But His plan for my life is not to give me what I want. It's to sanctify me. He wants to make me more like Christ. He wants to teach me to follow his commandments.
Trust God, and work cheerfully.
God wants us to work as unto the Lord and not as unto man. He wants us to have a cheerful heart and be good servants to His kingdom. Instead of using our work to strive towards a goal and "stay the course" in hopes of an earthly return, what if we used our work in each and every moment to fill our hearts with gladness and thanksgiving, knowing that we are serving Him?
What if the joy of our hearts in our present situation is the goal? Employment is not our reward, it becomes a byproduct. Our true reward is the cultivation of joy and peace in our spirit. That cannot be taken away from us by man. It is a gift from God.
Now before my readers exalt me for being so spiritual and trusting, please know that I am preaching the sermon that I most need to hear, not giving the testimonial of what I have mastered. God has been introducing a multitude of opportunities for me to cheerfully trust Him in the face of "not getting what I want," and my initial reaction has been despondency and failure every single time. In His word, He reveals how I should have responded, and the conviction of my lack of trust is meant to teach me. If you are going through the same thing, I would love to hear about your successes and the wisdom you have gained.
God bless.
And here is a picture of a marigold that Ed grew.
No comments:
Post a Comment