Colossians 3:23 – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (NLT)

I am a seventy-one-year-old Black man living off a small pension in a small apartment in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. Few people would consider me to have been a successful criminal defence attorney. I'm not married. I don't have any children, and I don't own a car or a house with a white picket fence.

To help pay my law school tuition, I worked as a porter and as a waiter on the trains during the summers and the Christmas holidays. While practicing law, I had to work at different part-time and sometimes full-time jobs as a telemarketer to be in a position to pay my bills.

If anyone had told this cocksure individual in my twenties that my struggles had some divine purpose, I would have scoffed at the idea. In fact, I would have been downright angry.

When I found myself despondent at not practicing law full-time in Montreal, I would think of the fact that one of my clients thought of me as a good enough lawyer to refer me to a person accused of murder. I'd recall that when Paul Robeson's secretary refused to take dictation from a black man, he gave up the practice of law and became a world-renowned bass baritone concert performer and activist.

Looking back, I can appreciate how working and discussing with porters and waiters gave me a better understanding of the struggles that Black porters living in Canada faced in the 1950s and 1960s. Working as a telemarketer has taught me the importance of identifying the market for one's product or service offering. Studying law in French helped me to learn a second language, which has proven to be quite useful.

Emmanuel Swedenborg wrote in his book, The true Christian religion, that no job is insignificant. Each and every job is a spiritual opportunity to express "charity" (love for others) by performing "useful work".

Today, I feel very content. I write in different publications and platforms, and I volunteer as a lector, intercessor, and advocate for seniors and the marginalized. Writing about Christian themes gives me opportunities to be in touch with God and to fulfill His purpose for me.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

How do we know what God wants us to do with our lives? If we listen with our hearts, we can hear God speak!

We need to trust that God will let us know when we have found the right occupation.

Prayer: Dear God, we pray for Your guidance in securing an occupation which aligns with our skills, desires, and talents, and with Your plans for our lives. Amen.