This is one of those non-HD posts but something that I wanted to share. Not just for me but for so many people that I know.
I recently downloaded the Timehop app. For those of you not familiar with this app, it links to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (and so many others) and pulls your history of pictures, posts or whatever it is. I think it is pretty cool because it is a quick snapshot of some things that you might have forgotten about.
Or it can remind you of the trials in your life as is the case with some recent flashbacks that I am seeing. Over this last week, I have been taken back to a major trial in my life that took place 5 years ago. I learned a lot as I walked down the path that God had laid out for me over a three month time period. It wasn’t always fun, it was wrought with tears and frustrations and some times that my husband probably wished he didn’t have to be around for. I know that I am not always the most joyful person to be around, but I know that during all of this, it was even worse. I was not a happy camper. In fact, I was very angry at some people and struggled to understand why this whole thing was happening. Seeing these posts has brought back some of those memories. And the reminder of the lessons that God taught me through that time. And maybe some things that I didn’t fully learn and am being reminded of again.
Briefly, it was five years ago that the man that I still considered the best boss I have ever had was removed from his position unfairly and replaced by a person that had no business being in that position. Needless to say, it was very upsetting to me and it became very frustrating and hard to work for him because of his treatment of me. Plus, he had taken an immediate dislike to me and was already planning for the day that he could get rid of me before he had even settled in to his new office and position. I would sometimes leave the office in tears because I was such an awful environment that I was in.
During all of this, I would often wonder why God had put me in this spot. What had I done that I needed to experience this whole ordeal. Then, one night, He revealed it to me. He reminded me of why I was put on this planet and what I was meant to do. In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman song “Do everything that you do for the glory of the one who made you!” Yeah, that! I wasn’t put here to work for the crummy boss or ungrateful co-workers. I was put on this planet to bring glory to God! I don’t work for these people that really don’t care about me. So, I shouldn’t worry about the way they are treating me and what they are doing to me because it doesn’t matter. I am not here to make them happy but to make my Savior happy. If they don’t like what it is that I am doing, as long as it is what God is calling me to do, I don’t need to concern myself with it.
The last thing that this guy said to me was to thank me for being so mature and nice about the fact that he was essentially firing me. I actually took pride in that statement. I knew that it was only with God’s presence in my life that allowed me to be calm about the entire ordeal. It was God’s calming influence in my life that had gotten me through being called names, talked down to, berated in front of co-workers and made to feel worthless. It was the peace that God had given me that allowed me to feel that everything was going to be alright. And all of that came because I remembered who it was that I was working for. Honestly, in my mind, I didn’t know how else I was supposed to be. I had no clue what it was that he expected me to do because in my mind, he was not my employer. Not because he had fired me but because at the end of the day, I didn’t work for him. I was employed by God to do what God wanted me to do.
The fact that I work for God and not some guy that physically signs my paycheck is something that I sometimes forget. When life get crazy and people get on my nerves, I tend to get irritated and upset. When I don’t feel appreciated or like anybody cares, I get frustrated and want to lash out. I have to stop that. I have to remember that I work for the Lord. As long as I am doing what he has called me to do, I can be happy with the job that I am doing regardless of what is going around me. If He is happy with the work that I am doing, that is all that matters.
So, the next time you feel that people are not appreciative of all you do, or they make things difficult or uncomfortable for you, remember that you really don’t work for them. You work the God and as long as He is happy with you, that is all that really matters. I can take joy in the job that I am doing today because I know that it is where God wants me to be and I am doing what He has called me to do at this point in my life. As anybody knows, to get ahead at your job, you need to be the best employee you can be. You have to take pride in the company you work for and exhibit the values and beliefs of that company as you go about your day to day life. God is your employer. This life and the world we live in is your company. It is your job to do everything you can to bring glory to Him and to make other people want to be a part of this wonderful company we are already employees of.
Whatever you do
It all matters
So do what you do
Don't ever forget
To do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
