Serving Jesus at My Job
Tomorrow I start training for my new job. I thank God for His provision of employment for me. I moved to a new state without having another job lined up. I did, however, have a week’s worth of vacation from my last job to tide me over. The window between jobs was so small that I didn’t even have one official day of unemployment, and only today was unpaid.
So I am very thankful and humbled by how quickly and smoothly I am able to transition into this new job. What a blessing it is not to struggle with weeks or months of unemployment, questioning my overall decision-making process and floundering financially. I am also very pleased with the place I am working compared to other options in the same field.
Yet in spite of how often I remind myself to be grateful, I am not looking forward to working in a daycare again. I prefer non-institutional child care and a more home-like setting. Being in the chaotic, mass-production orientation of a daycare drains me, simply because of the environment. I love peace, quiet, order, and a set list of tasks to accomplish. I want to take ownership over the setting I am in, make it functional and attractive, and be creative while working at my own pace. I think being home-schooled spoiled me (in a good way); it affects how I view the workplace.
Looking back over that last paragraph, I must remind myself that no matter what my preferences are, my portion is what the Lord has provided. I don’t get to choose what type of environment I’m going to work in. I can pursue as many options as I want to, but God, my faithful Shepherd, is the only one who decides which doors to open and which to close. For now, He has led me to this place and opened this door, and I know that if He calls, He also provides the sustenance needed to fulfill the call.
As I prepare to start working tomorrow, I am reminding myself of Colossians 3:22-24: “Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
What an endless debt I owe Christ, a debt I can never repay. How can I begrudge a moment of time or an iota of work, if I am serving the one who bled and died for me? I pray that my heart will be reminded of this in the endless minutiae of my daily routine. If my heart is set on Him, then my service should always be unhesitatingly joyful, and complaints should be far from my mind.
May I, like Mary, treasure Jesus’ every word and linger at His feet – and be enabled to keep her quiet heart while, like Martha, I am busy serving Him.
