Correct vocational direction is related to basic abilities, and God endows every Christian with unique abilities, desires, and gifts to accomplish His will through them (see 1 Corinthians 12).
Choose the right vocation
Discern God's plan on how to best use your gifts and talents to serve Him.
Stay within God's will – His priority guidelines – such as time spent in His Word, in prayer, and worship. This includes time spent with your spouse and children, so eliminate vocational options that have the potential to conflict with these priorities.
Choosing wrong vocational goals invites future problems. “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).
Choose the right vocation by discerning what God wants for your life. Because Christians have the advantage of being able to see life from God's perspective, we also have the responsibility to orient our lives accordingly.
Biblical perspective of work When God instituted work, it was not a curse. He put Adam to work for his own benefit. “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).
Work is so important to our daily lives that God commanded us to, “work six days” (Exodus 34:21).
Paul was very direct concerning work: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
God's Word implies that there is dignity in all types of work. It does not elevate one honest profession above another.
Jobs aren't merely tasks whereby workers can earn money; they are also a means by which workers can use their talents and abilities to develop godly character.
God gives every person unique talents, abilities and skills. “Every skillful person in whom the Lord has put a skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work” (Exodus 36:1).
God gives success and is the one who is ultimately responsible for our success. “The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man” (Genesis 39:2).
God even controls promotion, based on whether a person is a good steward of the responsibilities God has given her or him. “God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another” (Psalm 75:7)
Many people experience frustration in their jobs, because they don't understand God's part in work. “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:23).
Take God's Word about work seriously: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve" (Colossians 3:23-24).
Job Loss
byCrown Financial Ministries
It is never pleasant to be laid off, but the experience can be a good opportunity to make important progress.
Don’t withdraw and lose hope in God’s leadership and guidance. Admit, accept, and deal with any anger, shame, or fear, then give those feelings to God so that you can be relieved of them.
Don’t forget your gifts, talents, and skills. Assess the talents and gifts you already have. Then, based on these, search the job market for jobs that best fit these gifts, abilities, and talents.
Identify your abilities, pray, study God’s Word, and recognize your gifts, talents, abilities, and desires. Allow the Lord to reveal to you the assets with which He has gifted you. Ultimately, God’s in control of your life.
Search for a new job Begin a job search with focused, persistent effort. There are no guarantees for immediate success. Seek God’s direction through prayer – it’s essential during this time. Maintain a good attitude, keep the big picture in perspective, and ask yourself whether you really trust God or you just say that you trust Him.
Identify your objective.
Identify and secure resources needed to achieve your objective.
Develop a well-thought-out strategy or plan.
Sell yourself The best way to convince potential employers that you are the person they are looking for is to know what gifts, talents, and abilities are your greatest and most marketable assets. List them in writing the answers to these questions.
What are my accomplishments? Include business, career, personal, family, community, cultural, and societal accomplishments.
What skills were needed to accomplish them? Separate the skills into primary, secondary, and limited categories.
What are my values, principles, personal standards, and ethics? Eliminate from your job search any company where it is immediately obvious that you would have to compromise these values and standards.
What are my interests, abilities, skills, talents, desires, and gifts? Separate them into primary, secondary, and limited categories.
Concentrate job search efforts on your areas of greatest strength. This shouldn’t be a time to learn new skills. Find several companies you’d like to work for and the job position or responsibilities that match your strengths. Contact managers of departments where you’d want to work in the different companies and ask for an interview. If a manager is open to your suggestion, send your résumé, and always follow through.
Work as unto the Lord Take literally the principle of work in Colossians 3:23-24. "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." Look to the Lord for a successful job search.
Network, because the most effective method of finding a new job is through your contacts. These could include family, friends, business relations, business contacts, and church family.
So, what's in your future? No, this has nothing to do with horoscopes, but many Christians make financial decisions based on fear of the future, instead of trust that God will provide for them.
Fear of the future can cause families to forfeit the blessings of God, because they base decisions on the latest headline or stock market report. Too often, Christians give little thought to God's ability to take care of them.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan ahead to ensure financial stability for our families; however, when Christians find that attitudes of fear and worry are motivating financial decisions, they need to reevaluate their financial priorities, and recommit to trust in the Lord.
WITHHOLDING FROM GOD
Often, Christian families that are motivated by fear of the financial future will cut back on their tithes and offerings. Mistakenly, they see this as a first step in an attempt at financial stability.
Recent events such as U.S. relations with North Korea, war in Iraq, turmoil in the Middle East, gasoline prices, rising trade deficits, major layoffs, threat of terrorism, and an unstable economy, have caused many Americans to be concerned about the future.
The U.S. economic slowdown has the financial well-being of many Americans hanging in the balance. They worry about not having enough money to pay normal monthly bills, and the rash of recent mortgage defaults has devastated many families. Many Americans live so close to the edge financially that a prolonged economic downturn could put them in serious financial straits.
Despite all this, and even though many are very concerned about the financial future, consumer spending has not dropped proportionately. Actually, there has been very little change in the percentage of their income that Americans spend.
Still, there has been a shift in how the funds are spent. Less money is being saved and contributed to churches and charitable organizations, while more is being spent on credit card interest, recreation, alcohol, gambling (primarily through state lotteries) and pets.
This gives us good reason to pause and review what Jesus said: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.... No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money" (Matthew 6:21, 24).
The Bible says we are to honor God with the tithe -- the first-fruits of our income. Keeping our financial vows to God is the way to ensure that we will not become victimized by a financial downturn.
Withholding your financial commitments to the Lord so that you can buffer yourself against potential future financial hardships will end up costing your financial security rather than guarding it, simply because God's blessings will not be on such a self-imposed buffer.
FAITH CONQUERS FEAR
Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as something we hope for that we do not presently have. God's plan seems to be that we have some needs so that we can develop our faith in Him. It is vital for us to view potential future financial needs as opportunities to exercise and develop our faith.
No Christian can truly serve God and live in fear of financial loss. Jesus makes it very clear in the passage from Matthew 6, that we must make a choice -- either serve God or money, we cannot serve both. Fear of our financial future exhibits a lack of trust in God and in His provision. In other words, when we fear the future, we choose to serve the fear of financial loss, rather than to trust and serve God, Who has conquered all fear and holds the future in His hands.
WHOM WILL YOU TRUST?
We live in a materialistic society and generally base our priorities on desires and wants, rather than on needs. The perspective of what is actually a need is often clouded by what our materialistic society says we need.
Although God has promised that He will always supply our needs, He has not promised that He will supply all of the wants that society calls our needs. Even though we sincerely ask God to honor our request to supply the money to repair our microwave, automatic dishwasher or second car, His answer may very well be "no."
You see, we may be asking with the wrong motives (James 4:3). It may not be the right time, according to God's will and purpose (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Or, it may be contrary to His overall plan (Acts 21:13-14). After all, we are to serve God, not expect Him to serve us (Job 41:11).
It's a matter of "who're you gonna trust?"
TRUST GOD
There are some important steps we must follow that will help us trust God completely with the present and the future.
-- Find God's direction for your life. Most frustrations that Christians experience are the result of trying to model their lives after someone else's life. Instead, through prayer and study, find God's will for you.
-- Make a conscious effort to trust God. Put thoughts, words and commitments into action and trust God. Don't buy on credit. Plan ahead and wait for God to supply your needs.
-- Develop a long-range perspective. Trust God's directives and His guidance (Matthew 6:34).
-- Pray diligently. Prayer is the key that unlocks God's blessings, power and direction (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).
Although we are bombarded daily with events that can cause doubt concerning our financial future, we must never doubt that God is in complete control. Refuse to panic, and do not be governed by fear of the future. Keep your commitments and vows to God, pray without ceasing and trust your future to Him without reservation.
This article appeared on the Baptist Press Web site on October 24, 2007.
Like you, I only use the phone when I have to. I can IM with a friend just about as fast. And you can’t beat the convenience of e-mails that can be replied to when we’re good and ready–or ignored. The phone is a jangling intruder.
Those of us who still have land-lines don’t necessarily answer them when they ring. We’re just as likely to screen these calls by Caller ID or voice mail because–uh, because we can.
John Wren would have you think a little differently about that. “With social media, we tend to overlook the power of the telephone,” he says. John, a business and career coach of sorts in Denver, has a nifty five-minute podcast about that’s linked in the upper left of his Web site at http://johnwren.com/.
He also runs a weekly confab called the Denver IDEA Meetup Group for the exchange of start-up and new business ideas, where I’m tentatively fixing to speak in a few weeks.
Essentially, whether you’re looking for work in the form of projects or a fulltime gig, don’t sell the phone short. This might be a time when you want to intrude a bit. This isn’t getting your five job contacts for the week for unemployment–dogmeat jobs you’d hope you didn’t get. Those you do by electronic submission, right? But when you really want something, you Make the Call.
John is talking more upstream–not so much phone calls to employers or clients, but calls to friends, to tap into their network. “People who know you well and want to help you.” Apparently, our friends are able to help us more than we–or even they–think, until prodded.
John tells about multiple positions he’s snagged just calling a friend and asking who they know who might be able to provide a valuable connection to the right person or place. That’s how he became, for example, director of marketing and public relations for the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
But now he’s doing his own thing. I’d probably be remiss if I didn’t give his particulars:
Do you want help as you start in a new direction? Since 1979, I’ve helped hundreds of people find a good job quickly, or to find their first or next great new client. If you or someone you know wants to start a new career, a new campaign or project, or a new business, contact me about how I can help. Contact: John S. Wren, MBA+, 960 Grant St. #727, Denver, CO 80203. John@JohnWren.com, (303)861-1447.
Note the phone number. You could, like, pick up the phone and call.
Essentially, whether you’re looking for work in the form of projects or a fulltime gig, don’t sell the phone short. This might be a time when you want to intrude a bit. This isn’t getting your five job contacts for the week for unemployment–dogmeat jobs you’d hope you didn’t get. Those you do by electronic submission, right? But when you really want something, you Make the Call.
