“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.” Colossians 3:23-24
This summer my dad and I drove out to Colorado to visit my brother for a few weeks. At one point, the three of us were in the truck together and had driven past the trailhead for a hike, when one of them said, “So, you just go walk out there?”
Now, mind you, at the same time, I was thinking about how beautiful of a hike it appeared to be. I wanted to stop the car or even considered how I could take one of the cars back there once we got home just to go explore the spot for a bit. The trailhead was right in the foothills of the mountains, overlooking the city and the weather was absolutely perfect to be outside!
So, there I was wishing we were hitting the trail, as I was met with their comment of, “So, you just go walk out there?”.
I suppose hiking is what you make it. Sure, for some people, “you just go out there and walk”and it could seem pretty purposeless. Yet, for others, such as myself, a hike is one of the best refueling and refreshing activities out there. You start on a trail and let your mind wander as your feet move you forward. You breathe in the fresh air and once away from the beginning, enjoy the stillness and silence of nature. You can take friends for some company or conquer it solo, if you’re in need of some “me time”. It can be so much more than just going on a walk.
So many things in this life are the same in this way and specifically, our occupations come to mind today.
I can just “be a nurse” or it can be so much more than that. You can “just teach” or you can put every effort into impacting the life of every child you encounter. You can “just be a barista” or you can meet every customer with a genuine, smiling kindness. You can just “play basketball” or you can be a great role model for your followers. We could go on for forever, but my point is, our jobs have the potential to be so much more than just a job, and quite honestly, they should be!
Fellow believer, if you are walking with Christ, your job shouldn’t feel like an obligation, but a response in obedience and an opportunity for you to be a vessel of the love of Christ. Our Employer is not of this world and our true paycheck is no longer in the form of money.
I vividly remember this shift in my nursing career. After nursing school, I had relocated to North Carolina and at the same time, finally decided to begin surrendering the steering wheel of my life to the Lord.
Over the next six months, not only was I learning to be a nurse, but I was also beginning to learn how to follow Jesus. It was during that time that the Lord orchestrated my exposure to missions for the first time, and sent me on a life-changing trip to Costa Rica where I realized how present God had been in my life, even before I knew His name. I realized that He had equipped me in so many ways and my perspective shifted from the obligations of this world to the opportunities from Him. I realized that the purpose of my job was not simply to complete a day’s work, but to glorify the Lord in and through the position that I had been given.
In His perfect planning, at nearly the same time, I gained great confidence in my capability as a nurse. For those first few months, I had been so focused on understanding everything and figuring out my own flow, and doing everything by the book, but now, I could begin to implement myself into my job. I didn’t have to be a cookie cutter nurse, and with my new perspective shift, I realized that I was called to be much more than that.
Over the past few years, my eyes have only been further opened to the deeper purpose of my career. Just yesterday, I was speaking with someone about the change the occurs when you recognize the importance of saving souls rather than just doing a job. It should be a transformational shift; it should change your every day in so many ways.
Something that I hear so often is, “You have such a good opportunity as a nurse.” But I want to encourage you today in telling you that we ALL have such a good opportunity. It doesn’t matter if you’re the nurse, the teacher, the barista, the basketball player or anyone else… You have been equipped to be exactly where you are and you have been perfectly placed in that position.
I once remember a friend telling about someone who had asked her if she were a Christian through the window of an ice cream shop. The man saw her shine even in the way that she scooped ice cream!
So, the choice is yours. You can just “go out there and walk around” or you can shift your perspective, embrace the opportunity that has been placed before you and work with the purpose in knowing that you have been made for more.
I have recently heard it said that, “You’re calling is not your career, your value is not your vocation, and your worth is not your worth.” Believe this today. You were made for more.
