You’re not going to want to hear this, but:
God is not a way to pass tests you haven’t studied for.
God is not a way to get money you haven’t earned.
God is not a way to get your dream job without working for it.
“God has a plan for you” is something we hear so often, we can forget that we’re actually supposed to work for what we get.
The fact that you are a son/daughter of the king doesn’t mean that you can have whatever you want without earning it.
Whether you’re in school or you already have a family and work full time, you’re probably interested in working at your dream job.
Nobody wants to have to work at a job they don’t like in order to provide for themselves or their family.
Nobody dreams of getting a job that they have no passion for; where you feel like your time is being wasted on meaningless tasks.
We want to feel like we are accomplishing our purpose in our work, that we are using our God given gifts and abilities on a regular basis.
So when we hear, repeatedly, that God has a plan for our life from pastors and friends and family; and when we hear that we are a son/daughter of the king, it’s easy to start believing that God owes us a job that is fulfilling and that we have passion for.
You realize that he gave you passion and abilities in certain areas, so now it’s his responsibility to put you in a place where you can use them.
He equipped you and he called you, so now he owes you.
I call this attitude “Christian entitlement”.
I know that this world is temporary and one day it will roll up like a scroll as I will reign with God on high - therefore I am not required to live a life of meaningless tasks.
This attitude makes it hard when life presents us with unenjoyable tasks: going to a job that doesn’t seem like it’s important, taking a test to pass a class, etc.
But God isn’t a get-out-of-the-mundane-parts-of-life free card.
Do you want to work at your dream job? Then go to school and learn how to do what that job requires. Pursue any and every opportunity you can find to gain experience in that field.
When you get a shot, work your butt off.
I see so many Christians who are sitting around waiting for God to ring their doorbell and escort them to the job of their dreams one day.
I also see a number of Christian men who have refused to work a full time job and provide for their family because ‘they don’t like the jobs that are available to them’. This disgusts me.
I have worked a job that I dislike for years to provide for my family, while also working part time in ministry (which I do like) AND getting my Master’s Degree so that I could find part time work in the field where I want a career so I can earn my way into a full time job (this is still ongoing).
My wife went back to get her Bachelor’s Degree (and her Master’s) while pregnant and caring for two little kids, one with special needs.
Being Christian doesn’t mean our lives should involve refusing to work hard in order to get where we want, it means we should work harder, knowing that it is by our effort that we show ourselves worthy of an opportunity.
Rather than saying ‘this life is just a play and I don’t need to take it seriously’, we must endeavor to take it more seriously, knowing that we only have one chance to please God in this life.
When Jesus talks about building treasure in heaven when we live on the earth, do we think he’s joking? Do we think laziness and being adverse to working hard is what he’s after?
When the Israelites entered the promised land, Judges 3:2 says God left several hostile nations in the area to teach their children warfare. God doesn’t want soft, lazy Christians. He wants tough, strong, conquering Christians.
He wants a people that know life is a bull and how to grab it by the horns. Grace is not God’s Lay-Z-Boy recliner for us to sit around in, it’s God’s energy drink, empowering us to take on challenges bigger than we are.
Do you want your dream job? Don’t wait for it. Work for it!
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Recommended additional resources on this topic:
Lessons From Leaving a Desk Job (relevantmagazine.com article)
Quitter by Jon Acuff