Are We Stuck or Are We Placed?

“I hate this place.”

These are glaring words. Perhaps you have heard a disgruntled co-worker express this emotion. Perhaps you have expressed it yourself. Honestly, I have barked these words numerous times. Lord knows the stress that builds from working at a dead end job—where you feel undervalued and underappreciated—is enough to raise your blood pressure. A lack of fairness, micromanagement and the outpouring of department bullying heighten your displeasure. And the fact the organization doesn’t care about its employees validates the feeling.

           

You want to give your superiors their walking papers. You imagine, “There has to be something better than this. Something has to give.” The words of Johnny Paycheck bounce off the walls of your brain, “Take this job and shove it, I ain’t working here no more.” But, an unstable economy and the lack of jobs force you to stay the course. You hate the workplace, but you can’t escape what seems to be a deathtrap—a bottomless pit. You feel stuck. If only God would change the landscape, circumstances would be so much better, right?

           

There is hope, my friends. There is a way to find peace in a stressful work environment. Through hardship, I have learned to ask God to change me, instead of changing the setting. That meant I had to swallow a few kegs of humility, of course, but it was a small price to pay for serenity. That request has helped me find the peace I need. My hope is that you’ll find the same.

Could divine order be the reason you seem “stuck” at a job you detest? Have you ever seriously thought about that possibility? I assure you, this outlook will help you see your circumstances from a distinctive angle. If divine order is the case, then God has placed you at your job for a specific purpose. Herein lies the difference between your feeling stuck and your being placed. 

           

To be stuck means to be at or come to a standstill—blocked, checked or obstructed. Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? The relief of progress is nowhere in sight. However, to be placed means to be put into a particular place or position. The first is an obstruction. The latter is an opportunity. When God places you in a position, no manager, no supervisor and no department head can block you from progressing further. In other words, being stuck is not a reality when God is at the helm of your career, steering your ship in the direction He wants you to go. So, how do you reach your divinely ordered destination?

You let Him drive.

The Hush in the Midst of Hardship comes when we see ourselves placed at our jobs, instead of feeling stuck at our jobs.

Blessings.