To the One Who Feels Unfulfilled in Her Career

Y’all, I think I’m officially in a career rut.

A couple weeks ago, I was tasked with a long, tedious assignment at work that has produced much frustration and discouragement in my heart. I’m so done with this assignment, but unfortunately, I can’t actually be done for several more weeks. Staring at a screen all day certainly seems bad for my physical health, but it also seems bad for my mental health. Is data verification what God truly destined for me?

I believe that, at least for this season of my life, the answer is yes.

There’s More to Your Job than Your Job Description

Friend, I want you to know that your job isn’t just about the work that you do—your daily tasks, project assignments, or job title. Making coffee, stapling papers, and entering data into a spreadsheet may be included in your job description; but your job is about so much more than those things.

Your job is about the people you work with and the attitude you have as you work. It’s about how you react when your coworker takes credit for something that you accomplished. It’s about how you behave when you’re the only person in your office who gets a pay bump. It’s about how you respond when your boss shares a personal struggle with you.

You may feel like you’re wasting away at your desk as the minutes crawl, but I can promise you this: the time we spend in the places where God has called us is not wasted. He never said that we can only make a difference for His kingdom if we hold powerful positions. Because the truth is that we can use any position from God to make a difference for His kingdom.  

Yet This Is God’s Will for You

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. (1 Peter 2:13-20 NASB1995, emphasis mine)

Notice the bolded phrase above because it clearly states what God’s will is: that we silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing right (v. 14). There’s no caveat on that statement—anyone in any career can do that. We can serve God and others whether we’re doing menial tasks for a single customer or we’re making strategic decisions for an entire company.  

Dear friend, I realize you may not hold a position of power. And I know how intimidating it is to look at the gap between the career that you currently have and the career that you want to have. But this career may be exactly where God wants you—so that you can influence your managers, coworkers, and customers for His kingdom.