What’s the worst job you ever worked in and why?
Many Christians see work as a necessary evil and respond in three primarily different ways…
a) The Withdrawers:
b) The Accommodators:
c) The Indifferent:
What’s your tendency? Are you an withdrawer, an accommodator or indifferent?
This is what the Market Place series that we will be reflecting on through the book of Daniel and how it speaks into the marketplace. Daniel worked in one of the worst work environments you can imagine, and yet he consistently came out on top.
Daniel 1:1-2 (NIV)
Daniel was snatched away from his parents at the age of 15, after watching the Babylonians destroy everything that you love. Forced to march hundreds of kilometers, given a foreign identity and then forced to work for your captors, whose sole agenda is to use you to extend their influence. If anybody had a reason to hate his job, it was Daniel! I can imagine it was a humiliating experience of going to work every day!
Many of us would sink into depression. We’d ask ‘why me? Why do I have to suffer like this?
Instead of crying by the rivers of Babylon, wondering why things were so bad, Daniel decided to fearlessly sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. He decided to fully engage in the marketplace with the sole purpose of being an agent of God’s transformation. Despite his incredible challenges, Daniel grew up to be one of the greatest leaders Israel had ever produced.
As hostile as the work environment you are in could be, it is never an accident that you are caught up in it. God wants you to thrive where you’re planted.
GOD DOESN’T SEEK TO FIRST CHANGE THE MARKET PLACE BEFORE SENDING HIS PEOPLE IN, HE WANTS TO FIRST SEND HIS PEOPLE IN AND THEN USE THEM TO CHANGE THE MARKET PLACE FROM WITHIN!
The greater the challenges you are facing, the greater the leader God is raising. In the midst of a broken marketplace, God is looking for people who do not just survive but thrive and turn the marketplace around for His glory! In fact the more difficult the challenges you’re facing, the better a backdrop the world has to see the beauty of God’s power in your life! Light shines brightest when it’s darkest. Eagles soar the highest when the wind blows against them! What if you saw that your workplace was your platform to live out your purpose?
So if all this is true, then how can I play to win?
How do I thrive in a hostile marketplace?
Today we have just one thought. The one thing about Daniel that helped him thrive and succeed regardless of the environment he was in. It’s the second half of Daniel 11:32. Everything else we’ll be learning springs from this verse.
Daniel 11:32 b ‘the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits’ (KJV)
The truth is that God has a plan for the marketplace. He has strategically planted you there, and He wants to positively influence the marketplace through you, regardless of the challenges you face, regardless of your position in that company. Don’t miss an opportunity to be part of the change. Why? Because… ‘the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits’
Reading Challenge:
Read through the first 6 chapters of Daniel in one sitting…
Leave a comment and share with us your marketplace experiences