Tuesday December 28, 2010
Theme: Driven
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Cannons - Phil Wickham, All Over the World - Matt Redman, Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, The Stand - Hillsong
Read: Colossians 3:23-24; Jeremiah 29:11; Acts 2:28
Think: Pastor Paul called out “position” this Sunday as one of the wrong drivers in people’s lives. This brought back memories of when I was in graduate school several years ago, and I was intently focused on securing employment after graduation. Our first child was on the way, so my motivation level was very high. I wanted to make sure I landed a great position with a premier company so that I could provide for my family and pave the way for a successful career. During that period of time, I met with a man named Art that I had known from my high school years in Young Life. Art could see me worrying and churning excessively over my future career and shared with me experiences he had observed in the lives of other people that he had worked with in ministry over the years. Specifically, I’ll never forget him saying “so many men work so hard to climb the ladder of career, that when they get to the top, they realize that the ladder was on the wrong wall.” What he was referring to was that if your position/career is the primary driver in your life, it will displace more important things, primarily your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse, and your relationship with your kids. Art had witnessed first-hand the regret involved in seeing people obtain great success in the workplace but missing out in their faith, their marriages, and their kids’ development. In the advice he was giving me, Art was not implying that we shouldn’t be excellent in our positions. In Colossians 3, the bible says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” We have a duty as Christians to demonstrate excellence in the workplace as we represent Christ himself. However, we need to make sure that we are putting first things first, and that we are looking to Christ for our purpose and fulfillment, as nothing else will fill this need within us.
Do: As you head into the New Year, examine your priorities. Are you putting too much hope in your career or other things that are unable to ultimately provide the satisfaction we all are looking for? Ask Jesus to reveal his fulfilling presence to you.
Pray: Father, thank you that you love me. Please help me to put my hope in you, as you are the only thing that truly satisfies the longing within my soul.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.