On this episode:
This episode talks about how nothing in our work is arbitrary and that God uses everything for our good.
Episode Transcript
Opening
On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how nothing in your work is arbitrary.
You’re listening to Your Faith At Work with Dr. Ryan S. Howard, a podcast to inspire and equip you to partner with God in your daily work. Visit your YourFaithAtWork.org to learn more and download your free copy of 21 Days to a New Workplace You.
Episode
Could it really be true that nothing in your work is arbitrary.? I mean, what about all the surprises that happen? All the difficulties that come up? All the disappointments? What about all of those things?
Everything Has Meaning
Well, if they’re not arbitrary, that means that there’s purpose in them and that means that it’s not a waste. And that means that there’s meaning there.
God knows everything. He knows the future. He knows your past, He knows everything you’ve been through. He knows everything that’s coming up in your future that you need, need to be prepared for. So, but we can trust Him. And if we know Christ, we know we have a promise in Romans 8:28, that God will use all things for the good of those who love Him. And that’s true in church on Sunday, that’s true in your Bible study, that’s true in your family. And that’s true in your work.
God’s Promises Are Always True
Now, like I said, it can be hard to believe, but when we really think about it, those promises are true no matter what’s going on. And we need to learn to walk by faith. What that means is to trust God. So that means those things that come up, we may not be able to see what God’s gonna do with them, but we can have confidence and trust that He will use them for our good.
Now what can God do with some of the things that come to our work? Well, He can develop us. He can prepare us for the future; things that are coming up. He can help get something going in our spirit, bring our attention to something. Or it could just be that we needed to learn how to trust Him more.
And He wants us to be able to do that. It’s great when we can see how God will use something and wants to use something, but we don’t always have the ability to see that and to know exactly what God might have planned or what good He’s going to bring out of a situation. So we learn to walk by faith.
Joseph’s Circumstances
You know, in Genesis 50:20, it’s Joseph talking to his brothers. His brothers sold him into slavery and then he ended up going to prison later after he was wrongly accused. And he had a chance later in life when he was actually second in command over the known world in the Egyptian world. His brothers were standing in front of him and he actually said, what they meant for evil against him, God meant for good.
That means that God was not surprised by what happened, what the enemy means for evil God can use for good.
All for God’s Glory
How incredible is that? That even the things that the enemy might want to set up and that God will use that even to bring Him glory. When we see that our work is not about us and it’s about God, it’s much easier to understand how all of this stuff can be for our good. It’s not just the good of His kingdom, which it is. It’s also for our individual good.
Testimony Builds Faith
So when we have these promises and so many amazing stories in the Bible, this history that’s recorded in the Bible. We can go and we can build our faith by reading those testimonies. We can see that God really does deserve our trust. No matter what happens, whether it’s a job we didn’t get or our relationship difficulty, God can use it for our good.
So we need to be able to reflect internally. We need to be able to go to the Lord and say, “all right, Lord, what’s this mean for you and me? What do You want coming out of this?” He may show us, He may not, but we need to walk by faith. And trusting Him, no matter what. We can’t just walk around like we’re victims of our circumstances as if God doesn’t know what’s going on with us, because that’s just not true.
Time to Reflect
So take some time to reflect. I’m sure you can think of some things that God has used in an unexpected way. Walk in confidence that God will use everything and your work for your good. Everything has purpose and meaning, and nothing is arbitrary. So it takes some time to think about that this week.
Closing
Thanks for listening to Your Faith At Work with Dr. Ryan S. Howard, if you enjoyed this podcast, we’d love for you to subscribe, share, and leave us a review. Be sure to visit your YourFaithAtWork.org to download your free copy of 21 Days to a New Workplace You. And remember, God wants to partner with you in your work every day.
