Throughout the years, I have known a great number of people who were in the process of transitioning their lives – usually, but not always, to a new job or career. That’s the area of expertise where I spent most of my career – assisting people to awaken their awareness of who they were created to be and helping them get from where they were to where God designed them to be.
That can be a scary process. It’s familiar, if not comfortable, to stay where we are. Usually, there is the feeling of safety, an income, knowing how to do the job that you have, the familiarity of the people, the location and most of the time you know what to expect when you wake up in the morning.
And let’s face it – almost all of us have responsibilities that we must meet – mostly financial, and it’s difficult when you don’t know which way to turn. It’s easy to try and take the reins, trying to control your own destiny. But that’s when it is important to let go and let God do His thing in you. After all, you were created for something great.
In fact, for years I have said that each of us was created in this time and place for a specific purpose. That purpose – that reason for being – means that God has given you a special mission to accomplish. And that mission is something that you can do better than anyone in eternity past or anyone in eternity future could ever do it. That is why you are here!
Most of us have inadvertently interrupted God’s plan for our lives. That’s because sometimes we aren’t attuned to the proddings of the Holy Spirit. Sure, we believe in God, and go to church, and read the Bible, and do our devotions and all the other things that we should be doing to honor God. But most of us hate to give up control and just listen for that small, still voice that is ready to announce God’s next step in His plan for our lives.
We want to believe that we trust God but we really don’t think that God has anything to do with our careers and how we choose to earn our living day to to day and year to year. Is God really in that business? The answer is a resounding yes! Because you are one person – not designed to be one person during the week and another on the weekends when you walk into church. God even surrounds us with friends and family to help us through the tough times and celebrate the great things that happen to us!
Therefore, I urge you to turn over control of every aspect of your life to God – especially your career. And God doesn’t waste anything so whatever you have done in the past is in preparation for your next assignment. We should also realize that God doesn’t move us on until we have learned whatever it was that we were supposed to learn in order for us to be ready for the next challenge.
While we might question the loss of a job, or a change in status, those are things can be considered gifts from God. The largest roadblocks are the ones that cause us to cling to the things that God is ready for us to release. So God clears our path for the future and nudges us out into the unfamiliar – hopefully, with a trust in Him to lead the way. And that’s why it’s particularly important that we listen intently for His voice…
As well as I know this topic, I confess that even I have trouble letting go and turning everything over to God. But I have found that when I do, His plans are even bigger than I would have ever allowed myself to imagine. I can’t forget that God knows me better than I know myself…
There are so many verses in the Bible about our work that it is difficult to choose just one! But our verse for this evening is from the apostle Paul’s letter to the the church at Ephesus. He tells us, in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Notice that we are to do “good works.” Sure, we are to believe, and accept Christ as Lord and Savior, but those things are to be accompanied by “good works.” What good is it to keep our light hidden when we have been made to shine bright and excel at what we have been created for?
My encouragement this evening is that God has a plan for you that is grander than you can possibly imagine. My prayer is that you will turn it all over to Him and listen for what He has in mind for you. And if that means that you take a walk in the desert for a while, maybe He is causing you to be patient, waiting on His perfect timing for the start of your next adventure. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…