How To Thrive In Work

Do you love your job?

A 2018 poll found that two-thirds of workers are either not engaged or are actively disengaged. Maybe you’re part of that statistic?

Let’s be honest: we’ve all fantasized about landing our “dream job” – but in a fallen world, it just never pans out the way we thought. Regardless of what you’re doing for work today or if you even have work during the pandemic, here are six gospel principles that will allow you to thrive spiritually in your place of employment.

(And perhaps more importantly, keep your work balanced with your other life, family, ministry, and relationship commitments.)

1. The gifts that you employ in your work come from and belong to God.

Your career is not about applying your abilities to achieve the life you have always dreamed of. Such an approach to work is worryingly self-centered. The Bible teaches you that work is the regular place where God calls you to be a good steward of the gifts, opportunities, and abilities he has given you.

2. The time that you invest in work belongs to the Lord.

God is the only being in the universe who exists in timelessness. He has created us to live in and for a particular time and place (Acts 17:26). Therefore, we must do all he has called us to do within the limits of the time he has given. And that means if we spend too much time at work, it will take time away from the other things to which God has called us.

3. You are called to live for something bigger than yourself.

By grace, God has connected you to an eternal reality. You are not at the center of things. What you want should not be the principal motivator of what you do and how you spend your time. The choices and investment you make concerning work must always submit to the reality that you have been connected to an eternal kingdom (Matt 6:33).

4. Success is not about accruing power but about resting in God’s power.

Whatever power we have been granted in work is not independent power to use however we wish. All human power is representative, ambassadorial power (2 Cor. 5:20). God calls us to use it in a way that is consistent with values that he makes clear in his Word.

5. God is too wise and loving ever to call you to one area of responsibility that will necessitate you to be irresponsible in another.

God will never call you to a career that makes biblical commitments to your family and your church impossible. If it seems impossible, you are in that situation not because God’s calls are unmanageable but because you are seeking to get things out of work that you should not.

6. By grace, God welcomes you to rest in the knowledge that you will find everything you need in him.

Rather than our life of work being driven by “I’ve got to have _________,” it can now be shaped by “Look at the amazing things I have been given.” Rather than work being driven by anxious need (Matt. 6:25-34), it can now be shaped by worshipful gratitude.

Yes, you are committed to work because God calls you to labor, but as you work, you can rest in his covenantal commitment to meet every one of your needs! (Phil. 4:19)

God bless,

Paul Tripp

Reflection Questions

1. Are you either not engaged or actively disengaged at work? What are some reasons for your discontent, and what might this reveal about your heart?

2. Are you excited to get up for work most days? What do you love most about your job, and why? What might that reveal about your heart?

3. What gifts and abilities has God given you that allow you to be successful? How can you be a better steward of those gifts this week, both in and out of work? Come up with a practical strategy.

4. How did you allocate your time this week between work, family, ministry, and relationships? Did one area suffer because of your commitment to work? Be specific in your analysis.

5. Are you anxious about anything today? Are you working too hard to try and provide what God has already promised? Even if you are not working, how can you preach the gospel to yourself by reading Matthew 6:25-34 again?

• SOURCE: Employee Engagement on the Rise in the U.S. (Gallup, August 26, 2018)