“I hate my job,” a friend told me recently. Her feelings reached beyond a typical bad day scenario. She dislikes the work that she is doing and the people at work. A study by the Pew Research Center in the spring of last year revealed that half of workers are highly satisfied with their jobs. That means that the other half are not. And 19% of workers reported being miserable in their careers. My friend fell into that 19% of people who are miserable in their jobs.
For many people, like my friend, their work is just a paycheck to provide for themselves. She can not articulate what she would enjoy doing, complicating her situation. She is not alone.
If you do the work God has called you to do, you will not be miserable. Of course, you will have stressful days, but generally, you should feel fulfilled by your work. If you are miserable, you can take steps to figure out what God created you to do.
God demonstrates through stories in the Bible that He has a plan for each of us. God created us with unique abilities, temperaments, interests, and talents. In Exodus 31, God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle, and He provided the names of two specific artisans whom He had filled with the knowledge to do specific jobs. The craftsmen had different skills, and they could oversee all the specialized work together. When God set the Levites apart to be priests, He assigned different jobs to different Levite families. In the New Testament, Paul tells us that God created some people to be evangelists, some to be prophets, and some to be teachers, among other callings.
God also created you to do specific work. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
To help my friend, I turned to “The Purpose Drive Life” by Rick Warren. He suggests several questions that a person should ask themselves to help them determine their purpose. I made a list of the questions from the book to help my friend consider other job options as she prays and seeks the Lord’s guidance.
Here are 6 questions Rick Warren suggests to help you determine your purpose:
- What were your favorite family experiences? Favorite memories?
- What were your favorite subjects in school?
- What jobs have you had that you enjoyed or found meaningful?
- What are the most memorable times you have had with God?
- What Christian service/ministries have you enjoyed?
- What have you learned from your life’s problems, challenges, hurts, and trials?
God wants you to get up excited to face each day. Your job should be more than a way to get a paycheck. It should give you joy and satisfaction knowing that you are where God intended you to be, doing the work He created you to do.
The path to finding your purpose is not an overnight journey. It would help if you took the time to answer the questions and also ask your closest friends and family to help you evaluate what you enjoy. Ultimately, it is for you to decide with God’s help.
Now is an excellent time to begin searching for a new path.
Susan's Reflections 