The Bible says: ‘God has given each of you a gift from his great variety…Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God’ (v.10-11 NLT). You might not be fortunate enough to work at a job that makes use of your particular gifts, but it’s a good idea to try and keep moving towards one that does. So if you know you’re a creative person with aptitude for design and visual arts, and you find yourself exasperated by an admin job, it might be time to rethink your career goals. If you love to solve the problem when your computer crashes, but you’re working as a pastry chef, maybe it’s time to step back and reassess. We might not immediately be able to make a living doing something that involves our strongest passions, so we might have to start out by working in an area that’s very different from it. And that’s okay. It’s important to be practical and realistic. Paul worked as a tentmaker to fund his calling as a preacher. But our sights must stay set on following God’s calling. Moses spent two-thirds of his life getting ready for his real assignment leading the children of Israel into the promised land. God never wastes experience. Often the wisdom we gain from a job we don’t really want can actually equip us to succeed in the one we do want; the one God has chosen. So let’s keep growing and keep trusting God. Then, when He opens the right door, we’ll be ready to walk through it.
