Do you believe that God is at work… at your place of work?
Do you believe that God is at work… at your place of work?
Whether you hate your job or love it. Tolerate your career or gain purpose from your vocation – we all have an important question to ask:
Are you looking for what God is doing in your workplace?
For many of us our honest response would be – it is ME who is working at my workplace (when I’m not taking a Twitter break in the bathroom).
I mean, I hope God is present in my workplace when I need him. But is God at work in some specific ways when I am at work? I don’t know!
The average church participant spends 1-3 hours in “church related” actives during any given week.
Those same individuals typically spend somewhere between 30-50 hours doing their job at their workplace.
We spend over 2000 hours a year at work… and not even 150 hours a year in worship services and church groups.
Thus – the question “is God working in our workplace” is an important one!
For most of us, work defines the location and activity of most of our waking hours.
From the teacher to the stay at home parent.
The realtor to the barista.
The chef to the lawyer.
From those whose work is currently in finding work to those whose work is currently in getting their education.
Our lives, and certainly our schedules, tend to revolve around our work.
I believe that God created us to work and that God is AT work in our workplace.
No matter what field we are in, whether our work is in a cubicle or in a vehicle, in a home or in a retail store.
God is at work.
This is how my friend and co-pastor Mike Binder put this in the context of the big story of God:
God is a worker
The first picture we have in Genesis about who God is comes from God as creator. A worker – who has a purpose to form things and give them life.
Work was created to be good
Work is described in Genesis 1:26-30 as something God made us to do alongside the work God was doing in the world. That we could be co-laborers or co-workers with God.
Work is messed up
You don’t have to convince most of us that this is a reality. Even people who love what they do, notice that work is messed up. In Genesis 3, we see that work is essentially cursed. So thus work isn’t what God intended for it to be.
God’s work is to save the world
God is working all the time to save the world. God’s work isn’t limited to “sacred” spaces like churches or worship services. God can work anywhere redemption is needed. Since work is messed up – that is definitely a place for God’s redemptive power to be at work!
Some work will last forever
God’s story hints in many places that some of the work we are doing now will be a part of the new heaven and new earth God will some day bring fully.
We get the idea that there will still be purpose and work to be done as co-workers with God again. God will make all things new – including the “messed up” version of work we participate in today.
My encouragement to you today is this:
- Ask God to show you where God is at work in your workplace?
- Set an alarm every morning to remind yourself to ask God to show you what he is doing.
- Set an alarm for your commute home to remind to you look back on your work day and see if you can identify what God was up to during your work hours.
Do this for a week and see what you discover!
In the coming weeks – I will tell you some stories of people who did just that and how it has made all the difference.
“We are co-workers, together with God.” – Apostle Paul
(Check out the God@Work Initiative at Mill City Church led by JD Larson)
Do you believe that God is at work… at your place of work?
Whether you hate your job or love it. Tolerate your career or gain purpose from your vocation – we all have an important question to ask:
Are you looking for what God is doing in your workplace?
For many of us our honest response would be – it is ME who is working at my workplace (when I’m not taking a Twitter break in the bathroom).
I mean, I hope God is present in my workplace when I need him. But is God at work in some specific ways when I am at work? I don’t know!
The average church participant spends 1-3 hours in “church related” actives during any given week.
Those same individuals typically spend somewhere between 30-50 hours doing their job at their workplace.
We spend over 2000 hours a year at work… and not even 150 hours a year in worship services and church groups.
Thus – the question “is God working in our workplace” is an important one!
For most of us, work defines the location and activity of most of our waking hours.
From the teacher to the stay at home parent.
The realtor to the barista.
The chef to the lawyer.
From those whose work is currently in finding work to those whose work is currently in getting their education.
Our lives, and certainly our schedules, tend to revolve around our work.
I believe that God created us to work and that God is AT work in our workplace.
No matter what field we are in, whether our work is in a cubicle or in a vehicle, in a home or in a retail store.
God is at work.
This is how my friend and co-pastor Mike Binder put this in the context of the big story of God:
God is a worker
The first picture we have in Genesis about who God is comes from God as creator. A worker – who has a purpose to form things and give them life.
Work was created to be good
Work is described in Genesis 1:26-30 as something God made us to do alongside the work God was doing in the world. That we could be co-laborers or co-workers with God.
Work is messed up
You don’t have to convince most of us that this is a reality. Even people who love what they do, notice that work is messed up. In Genesis 3, we see that work is essentially cursed. So thus work isn’t what God intended for it to be.
God’s work is to save the world
God is working all the time to save the world. God’s work isn’t limited to “sacred” spaces like churches or worship services. God can work anywhere redemption is needed. Since work is messed up – that is definitely a place for God’s redemptive power to be at work!
Some work will last forever
God’s story hints in many places that some of the work we are doing now will be a part of the new heaven and new earth God will some day bring fully.
We get the idea that there will still be purpose and work to be done as co-workers with God again. God will make all things new – including the “messed up” version of work we participate in today.
My encouragement to you today is this:
- Ask God to show you where God is at work in your workplace?
- Set an alarm every morning to remind yourself to ask God to show you what he is doing.
- Set an alarm for your commute home to remind to you look back on your work day and see if you can identify what God was up to during your work hours.
Do this for a week and see what you discover!
In the coming weeks – I will tell you some stories of people who did just that and how it has made all the difference.
“We are co-workers, together with God.” – Apostle Paul
(Check out the God@Work Initiative at Mill City Church led by JD Larson)
What a great reminder, Steph!!