GETTING UNSTUCK IN MY FIELD

Do you feel like you have gone as far as you can in your field or career and it is frustrating you? Or maybe you are disinterested in what you do and there is no fulfilment in your job. Or perhaps you are in a toxic work environment or feel like a failure.

If you feel stuck in your job right now, know that God doesn't want you to feel that way. Ecclesiastes 2:24 NLT tells us "So I decided there is nothing better than to find satisfaction in work. Then I realised that this pleasure is from the hand of God." If you want to move from stuck to being unstuck in your career you have to:

1 Choose to make God your boss

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Colossians 3:23 NIV. When you go to work and you have God as your boss, you must first love Him and others. The Scripture says (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself." . You must also serve your co-workers, instead of looking for ways to get people in your workplace to serve you. And then find a Godly mentor as a model to follow; someone who you see that chooses to go to work for God every day. "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 NIV.

2 Choose to separate who I am from what I do

What you do for a living is not who you are. As followers of Jesus, our sense of identity is not tied to our job or career; it's tied to who we are in Jesus Christ. "For we are God's masterpiece created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10. You are God's masterpiece. So here are three important steps to keep your job separate from your identity:

(a) A daily quiet time - beginning your day by praying and reading the Bible.

(b) A weekly Sabbath - a day set aside for worship and praise and

(c) A weekly life group - When you are in a small group that studies the Word together, you are regularly surrounded by other believers who love you and will encourage you.

3 Choose to be faithful in the small things

Learn to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well. Unfortunately, that's not how most people are; most people just do enough to get by. But God is not going to bless you with something great if you are not faithful with the small things that you have now. "His master replied, 'Good job! You are a good and faithful servant. You proved that you could be trusted with a small amount. I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master's happiness.'" Matthew 25:23 GW. So do your best in the small things as they make a big difference in how we honour God. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might ... ." Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV.

4 Choose to persevere even when you feel stuck

Persevere in prayer, persevere in the Word, persevere on the job. What's the easiest thing to do when you feel stuck? Quit. No! Since your boss is God, we need to hear what He is saying about the job. And if you really want to get unstuck, the key is to trust God and to rely on His strength rather than your own strength.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul said "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure ..." 2 Corinthians 1:8 NIV. But then he continues, "As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totallynot a bad idea since he's the God who raises the dead!" 2 Corinthians 1:9 MSG.

If you are stuck today, it may be the best thing that has ever happened to you. For perhaps through this experience, God is teaching you to trust Him, to lean more on Him and to rely on His strength. "It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves, our only power and success comes from God." 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NLT.