iWork4Him PowerThought

We can spend a whole year preparing for a short-term mission trip. But how much time have you spent preparing for your workplace mission field? We need to prepare our strength daily. I'm not sure who said it first, but whoever said it was right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Exercise isn't a bad idea either. If you never get to eat a decent breakfast and never get a chance to exercise, how can your strength be prepared for your workplace ministry? We need to be ready to battle the enemy who wants to keep the lost souls of our workplace neighbors entrapped in eternal damnation. We need to be at the top of our game every day. We must eat right, grow strong, and keep our face to the Son and our feet on the rock. Are you at your full strength today?

We can spend a whole year preparing for a short-term mission trip. But how much time have you spent preparing for your workplace mission field? We need to prepare our souls daily as we get ready for work. What does that mean? So often, our souls have been hurt and damaged by the people we work with and the people we live with. Preparing our souls means forgiving those who have sinned against us. Remember, forgiving isn't for them it's for you. If you don't forgive others, your soul will never be prepared for your workplace mission field. Do you have people at work that you need to forgive? If our souls are not prepared through forgiving others who have hurt us, we will not be able to prepare others for the soul repairing that Jesus can do for them. Is your soul prepared today?

We can spend a whole year preparing for a short-term mission trip. How much time have you spent preparing for your workplace mission field? We need to prepare our minds daily as we get ready for work. What does that mean? Spending time in God's word, prayer, journaling, and just plain quiet time. If we jump out of bed, get ready for work, and take off down the driveway, our minds will be filled with furious thoughts about everything we want to accomplish in the day. If we prepare our minds, we will focus on the people we work with and how we need to love on them and pray for them. If you don't prepare your mind, your workplace mission field is in danger today. If you do prepare your mind, those people you work with, they're in danger of meeting Jesus.

We can spend a whole year preparing for a short-term mission trip. But how much time have you spent preparing for your workplace mission field? We need to prepare our hearts daily as we get ready for work. What does that mean? It means confessing our sins to our heavenly Father before our day starts. Confessing just means agreeing with God for what He already knows about our attitudes and actions. So often we carry negative attitudes and actions towards those we work with because of frustrations at our jobs. Our hearts need to be prepared with love for those in our workplaces. Whether that be our bosses, our vendors, our customers, or fellow employees, our hearts need to be ready to hear the voice of God and respond lovingly to those around us. Have you prepared your heart for today?

I have this funny thing that I do. When I ask people how they're doing, I mean it. So if I ask someone, "How are you doing?" and they say, "Fine," I respond with, "Really? Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional. No, how are you really doing?" And I mean it. Then I shut up and listen. When someone shares from their heart after you've had that exchange, it opens the door for the next step. I say, "Thank you for sharing that with me. I really appreciate you allowing me to see a part of your heart. Can I pray with you about that right now?" I've never been told no. Because prayer, in a time when someone is hurting, is meaningful, powerful, and effective. Look for opportunities to overcome the " I'm fine" response. Because when you pray with people, it changes things.

I grew up in a household where faith and work were lived out daily. My mom and my dad prayed over their business all the time. So it wasn't new for me to see a connection between faith and work and prayer when Jim and I got married. However, we had never been discipled to understand the relationship between faith and work. I saw it lived out in my dad's and my mom's lives, but JIM had never seen that done. I saw my mom and dad put prayer at the center of all of their major decisions at work. I saw God rescue my parents from financial peril in business and bless them as they took steps of faith in business. Prayer works and is a critical part of everyday business. Can you give it a try today – and pray before you act?

How about praying for that bad boss or coworker who you struggle with? Most of the reason you likely struggle with them, is that they are not living or leading with the Holy Spirit's guidance, but how could we ever expect them to, if they don't know God? Now if you're like me, it's still tough to get yourself to pray for bad superiors. But again, like everyone, they have burdens, internal struggles and pain they have to deal with. And considering they're muscling through on their own steam, with no help of hope from a relationship with Jesus, maybe that thought is enough to lift them up in prayer. In fact, your prayers may be the only ones on their behalf that they ever receive. We need to have mercy on them as the Lord had on us. Pray that they follow the Father's call into the Kingdom.

Our God is a God of order. Look at His creation. In our bodies, every heartbeat and breath works with a thousand other systems to maintain life in every fiber of our being. The chemical balance within the kidney is precisely controlled, the fluid pressure in every cell is maintained, and our sleep tonight will initiate a series of brainwaves that defy even the experts to explain their purpose, rhythm and order. We are created in His image. We are called to be His reflection. On a regular basis, take time to create organization and order in your life. It is a Godly activity that reflects Him, His ways, and His world. It will increase your yield in your workplace, and in your everyday living, as His Word works in your life, today. Just remember, none of this is possible without a good night's sleep.

We live in the midst of a non-stop world. Our responsibilities at home and work fill our thoughts the instant we wake up, then run with us throughout the day. Our jobs, meetings, phones, TV, personal trials and temptations are relentless, noisy invaders that drive us all our waking hours. The result – we can't hear God in our life, not enough anyway. Would you recognize the Lord's soft voice if He walked up behind you? You would if you spent time with Him. Find a quiet place to daily ask Him about His Word, His world and your place in it. Before long you will not only know His voice, but will know Him, and be walking with Him. Start your days with your Bible in your hands not your phone.

I have never worked a manufacturing line. But I know this. If people don't do their jobs at the manufacturing plants, then many items we count on wouldn't be made. If you feel like you're just a manufacturing worker and want to quit your job to go into full-time ministry. Don't! That's a disaster. Your job is so critical to the lives of thousands of people, perhaps millions. God has gifted you uniquely to be able to build things, fix things, and package things. Without manufacturing, we'd still be in the dark ages. Every day as a worker in a manufacturing environment, you have the unique ability to touch the lives of everyone around you and impact the lives of people you'll never meet. Please stay at your job and keep making a difference. Imagine a world where everybody in a manufacturing environment quit their job to work at a church. That's not a world I want to live in.