I have no reason what so ever to EVER feel blah about my job. NO REASON. But, yet, there are times in the year when I’m just not excited to get to work. Do you ever experience this?
I’ve come to realize that I can not count on the feeling of “I want to.” Feelings are wishy washy an deceiving — not always to be trusted. So when the blahs come around in regards to my job, I have to realize up front exactly what is going on…my feelings are getting in the way.
Sometimes we get wrapped up in our job and make it our whole identity and source of fulfillment. When things slow down or the excitement of a new project at work wanes, that sense of purpose is questioned. The trick is not to wrap our whole lives around our work. We must find our sense of purpose and fufillment in something greater than that of a career. If you are a twentysomething reading this, chances are that the job you currently hold will not be your life long career. You will probably change job descriptions several times in the next several years before you find the right fit for you. Until then, it is easy to get wrapped up in what we do at our desk but then down in the dumps when it is not meeting our expectations or needs any longer.
I will leave you with a few questions to ask yourself. Please leave a comment with your thoughts and lets get a good convo started to encourage each other!
1) Do I take time regularly to evaluate where my priorities are? How high up on that list are things like time with the LORD, friends/family, etc.
2) Is my whole evening after work wrecked if I have a frustrating day at the office? Does this spill into my personal life?
3) When was the last time I prayed over my work and asked God to give me a sense of purpose rather than relying on my job to meet that need?
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
“When was the last time I prayed over my work and asked God to give me a sense of purpose rather than relying on my job to meet that need?”
LOVE that. It’s so easy to focus on the job itself and try to find some meaning/purpose in what you’re doing. It’s so much better to focus on God and ask him to show you to that purpose. I recently got turned down for a job I really wanted–one I thought was full of purpose. Instead, I’m working somewhere it’s very hard for me to see the purpose… But there must be one, or God wouldn’t have me here. It’s all about searching in the right places.
Great attitude, Kenzie. So sorry that you didn’t get the job you wanted. I’ve been there, done that!! Keep believing God’s will is best!
Oh man. Convicting. I am SO guilty of putting my job before everything else in my life. I am what people tend to call a “workaholic.” I don’t do it for the fulfillment in the form of monetary payment, but I do it because it keeps me busy (I struggle with “busyness”) and it’s a way for me to feel like I have accomplished SOMETHING in my life. My days at work can drip into my personal life when I have had a frustrating day and I vent to the people closest to me and make it a bigger deal than what it really is. What I SHOULD do (easier said than done) is vent to the Lord as it happens and then give it to Him and let it go. That will actually be my goal for this week, as I am writing this. I am also do the suggested “pray over work and ask for a sense of purpose”. I love it. Thank you for this post Sarah!
A lady recently came into our office and started talking to me about earning a degree. It took me a few minutes to realize she was actually trying to tell me that I should’ve gone to college. At first, I thought it was kind of funny…until she said, “with a degree, you can do more than sit at a front desk and answer phones all day.”
Ouch.
Suddenly, this job that I’ve been okay with felt like a joke. I felt like a joke. I didn’t even tell her that I do have a degree or that my career choice was really none of her business. I didn’t defend myself at all. In fact, I didn’t say anything; I just stared at her blankly, feeling small and insignifcant, like a failure.
Since that conversation, I’ve definitely allowed the blah to bleed into my work. The things I used to appreciate about the position (free time in the evenings to be invovled in Bible studies, time during the day to write, a Christian environment with Godly bosses who understand my priorities, the opportunity to be involved with organizations like the pregnancy help center up the road) have seemed meaningless the last week or so. I started focusing on wanting to a job with a purpose instead of focusing on the purpose God has for this job.
Anyway, I said all of that to say this: this post reminded me that being here, in this place at this time, is a blessing. God does have a purpose for this phase of my life, and I can trust that He will let me know when it’s time to move on to a new opportunity with a new purpose. I can’t make decisions based on the wishy-washy, deceving emotions you talked about in your post, especially those brought on by the harsh words of someone who doesn’t even know me.
Thank you for this! I really felt like you were reading my mind!
and ps..sorry for the super long comment :)
Hi Sarah,
This is so true, we often find our whole worth and identity in our jobs, and it seems like at twenty-something our jobs are often not quite yet our life goals or passion but just something to get through. In my experience, my jobs often wanted my job to become my life, and managers expected me to be available even after hours if needed/wanted. I felt black-listed for saying there would be times when I wasn’t available by phone or I had to stay home with my daughter.
God really had to remind me not to get sucked in to the mentality of my job being my life or identity, but it is challenging when everyone else seems so prone to it as well. Honestly, when I give my priorities back to Him and put my family and relationships and what He wants me to do first, I am a better employee, like you said, because my sense of worth has nothing to do with the ups and downs of that particular job.
It is encouraging to know that in a job of awesome ministry that these feelings are still there, and that if we keep our focus on God then He will fill us up and send us out! Thank you Sarah!
~Kandi
3) When was the last time I prayed over my work and asked God to give me a sense of purpose rather than relying on my job to meet that need?
I LIKE THIS. A SENSE OF PURPOSE IS WHAT WE NEED BEING NEW CREATIONS IN CHRIST JESUS. WE DO NOT DO THINGS WITHOUT COORDINATION NEITHER DO WE DO THINGS FOR SELF-DRIVEN PURPOSES. AND THAT I BELIEVE GIVES ROOM FOR GREAT ENERGY, EXTRA ENERGY FOR OTHER THINGS
FEELINGS ARE UNDEPENDABLE AND UNNECESSARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REAL MAN.
ABOUT JOBS, THE BLAHS COME UP WHEN THE FOCUS IS WRONG, KEEPING ATTENTION ON WRONG THINGS. A SPIRITUAL CHRISTIAN WILL UNDERSTAND THAT HE (the spiritual man) IS USEFUL, SAVED TO BE A SAVIOUR, ALSO THAT HE IS BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING. THAT IS THE KIND OF MENTALITY WE OUGHT TO HAVE. WE CAN STAY AT HOME AND BE BUSY BODIES BUT ST. PAUL & PETER KICKS AGAINST THAT = 2 Thessalonians 3:11, 1 Timothy 5:13, 1 Peter 4:15.
AND SO WHAT DO WE DO? WE GET BUSY (not too busy though) FOR THE RIGHT REASONS OF COURSE. DOING WHAT? DOING WHAT IS BENEFICIAL, DOING WHAT WE ARE CALLED FOR, OR WHAT WE ARE CUT OUT FOR. WHY? BECAUSE WE BELONG TO GOD’S FAMILY AND THAT IS WHAT WE DO. WE GET WORKING WITH OUR HANDS. WE DO NOT LAZE AROUND WITH OUR HANDS OR MINDS. THE JOB ITSELF DOES NOT AND MAY NOT PAY US BUT AS A BELIEVER, WE ARE DIFFERENT, WE THINK DIFFERENTLY, WE HAVE SO MUCH TO OFFER, WE MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, WE ARE INDUSTRIOUS AND WHEN GOD BLESSES IT – THERE – IT IS BLESSED. IT IS ALSO NECESSARY TO PRAY AND GET GOD INVOLVED WHEN SEARCHING FOR JOBS SO THAT WE DO NOT GET ONE THAT FRUSTRATES!
WE (including myself) OUGHT TO LEARN TO KEEP POSITIVE MINDS AND LEARN TO LOVE OUR JOBS OR THE WORK WE DO. IF IT IS A START UP JOB MEANT TO TAKE US TO HIGHER PLACES, DO NOT DESPISE IT. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS ARE NOT TO BE DESPISED. REMEMBER [Romans 8:28 = And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.] WE LEAD A PURPOSEFUL LIFE.
I BELIEVE THIS MUCH IS TRUE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?