I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep without fear. I will remove the wild animals from your land and protect you from your enemies. (Leviticus 26:6)
Can you relate to the experience where after a couple of cold, gloomy, windy, rainy days the sun finally breaks through the clouds? And it happens to break through just as you finish buying a coffee at your local shop of choice and you step outside into its blazing rays. You stop...turn your face up...the suns warm rays wash over you...every pore tingles with delight...you take a deep breath and drink in the rich air laden with the aroma of coffee while listening to the birds singing in the background. It is a moment of pure relaxation. Then your head is snapped back into reality as a car screams into the tiny parking lot, its driver's pulse quickening as she rushes to grab a mug of coffee on the way to a meeting that started 5 minutes ago. You're supposed to be in the same meeting.
This experience has much in common with our spiritual life. We know we have truly experienced God when His warmth washes over us and leaves us with an incredible sense of peace that nothing in this world can come close to. However, the times that we slow down to allow God to speak to us in this way are often few and far between as the pressures of our day weigh in like a wet cold front.
Our Lord spoke to Elijah in a "still small voice," a voice that spoke after a wind, earthquake and fire in which He was not present (I Kings 19: 11-13). Which will we let really direct our workdays: the noise, bustle, and pressure? Or the presence and voice of Jesus?
A WORK PRAYER
Lord God, life and faith become dry without Your voice. And You come across as relaxed, yet authoritative and wise. Help me to listen to You even in the midst of my busy day. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think your workday could be like the feeling of the sun breaking through on a cloudy day if you allow God's presence there? Why or why not?
2. What do you make of the suggestion that the presence and voice of Jesus are actually more lasting and important than daily work bustle? How does this knowledge change how you look at work?
This WorkLife SwitchTOOL was written by Darryl Shoemaker, Ph.D. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Content edited and distributed by WorkLife.org for non-profit educational purposes.
