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Series: Common Grace & Uncommon Work

Devotional: 5 of 5

For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good….for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. (Romans 13:4,6)

Let’s face it: The brand of Christianity isn’t so hot right now. By and large, non-Christians perceive us to be judgmental and unloving, increasingly retreating into subcultural enclaves to sit on Facebook to rage about “the culture” rather than engage it.

Here’s something you can do today to help solve this problem: Celebrate the good in a non-Christian’s work. More than that, tell them that you see God working through them to do good in the world.

That’s what we’ve seen throughout this series on common grace! God gives good gifts of provision and vocational skill to “the righteous and the unrighteous” (see Matthew 5:45). And he works in this world through believers and non-believers alike as we see in Romans 13:1-6.

And so, while we will not agree with everything non-Christians do in their work, we are free to call out what they do for the common good via God’s common grace as nothing less than God’s work in the world. And that can have a profound impact on the lost, as my friend Mike Kelsey has learned.

As Mike shared on the Mere Christians podcast, he was having lunch with a non-Christian friend of his who is a talented poet. Mike told his friend, “Hey, man. I know you don't even know what you believe, but you're doing God's work. God is using you in the ways that you craft words and write poetry and write books…you're blessing people through your gifts.”

When I asked Mike how his friend reacted, he said, “He was stunned that I would say that.” Because this guy assumed that he was simply “a salvation project” for Mike. But by taking the time to see his friend and call out the God-given goodness in his work, Mike gave his friend a new and far more winsome picture of what it means to be a Christian.

Throughout this series we’ve been looking at responses to common grace that lead to uncommon work. Here are all five:

1. Common grace leaves us dumbstruck at the goodness of God.
2. Common grace leads us to be good to our enemies.
3. Common grace frees us to learn from and work with Christians and non-Christians alike.
4. Common grace forces us to decouple our success from our faithfulness.
5. Common grace allows us to celebrate the lost and change their perception of Christianity.

Regarding that fifth response, let me encourage you to do what Mike Kelsey did today. Find a non-Christian who God is clearly using to deliver his good gifts to the world. Encourage them to that end. And watch what God can do with your response to his common grace!

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Series: Common Grace & Uncommon Work

Devotional: 4 of 5

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. (Psalm 145:9)

I was talking with a friend recently who explained how he felt called by God to quit podcasting because of how much anxiety it was causing him.

Every one of this guy’s friends was telling him that he needed the podcast to grow his business. But he shut down the show anyway. And then, his business exploded.

Reflecting on this series of events, my friend said, “It just goes to show that God rewards doing business his way.”

“Ummmmm, not so fast,” I said.

I went on to lovingly explain to my friend that it may be true that God’s blessing was tied to what he perceived to be an act of faithfulness. But not necessarily. While there are certainly eternal rewards tied to working “as unto the Lord” (see Colossians 3:23-24), temporal rewards are not always connected to our righteousness. To quote my college statistics professor, “Correlation does not imply causation.”

Because, as we’ve seen throughout this series on common grace, God gives good gifts to “the righteous and the unrighteous” (see Matthew 5:45). That truth has a number of practical implications for our work including this: Common grace forces us to decouple our success from our faithfulness.

If, in the words of today’s passage, “the Lord is good to all” and not just the faithful, then my friend can’t connect his success to his obedience. Because there are plenty of people not working “as unto the Lord” who are succeeding by the world’s standards every day!

The same is true for you and me. If you get a promotion today or land a new customer, it’s not necessarily because you’ve had a consistent quiet time this month. And conversely, if you don’t land that promotion, it’s not necessarily because you forgot to tithe on Sunday. Remember, Job was “blameless and upright” (see Job 1:1) and yet he lost everything both personally and professionally!

Common grace reminds us that God doesn’t do good to us because we are good to him. He does good to us because he is good. May that truth lead you to follow his ways as you work today—not so that he will bless you, but because he created and redeemed you for his glory.

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Series: Common Grace & Uncommon Work

Devotional: 3 of 5

When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?...His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. (Isaiah 28:24,26)

I was recently asked to speak to a group of pastors about Redeeming Your Time, my book that examines God’s Word and bestselling time management books for wisdom about how we can be maximally productive for God’s glory.

Before I took the stage, a pastor spoke and passionately called the audience to ignore “secular” business books. The essence of the man’s message was that, “The only book you need is the Good Book.”

When it was my turn to speak, I knew I couldn’t bite my tongue. So I addressed the pastor’s comments head on and said, “We might not ‘need’ these ‘secular’ business books per se. But God in his common grace has given great wisdom to Christians and non-Christians alike and we would be foolish not to learn from them.”

I was expecting somebody to throw a rotten tomato. Thankfully, I got a bunch of “amens” instead. Because the pastors in the audience understood the truth embedded in today’s passage.

Isaiah says that “God instructs” farmers and “teaches” them “the right way.” But notice this: The passage doesn’t say that God instructs only God-fearing farmers. 

As we’ve seen throughout this series, the doctrine of common grace teaches us that God makes it “rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (see Matthew 5:45). He reveals truth to God-fearing farmers and God-hating farmers—to Christian authors and non-Christian ones.

What does that mean for you and me? Here’s the third response to common grace I want you to see in this series: Common grace frees us to learn from and work with Christians and non-Christians alike.

I know Christians who will only work for Christian employers, hire Christian vendors, retain Christian attorneys, and watch films made by Christians. Do you see how common grace destroys that thinking? If not, hear this from the late great Tim Keller: 

Of course, all non-believers have seriously impaired spiritual vision. Yet so many of the gifts God has put in the world are given to nonbelievers….So Christians are free to study the world…in order to know more of God; for as creatures made in His image we can appreciate truth and wisdom wherever we find it.

Amen. So go out and freely and joyfully learn from and work with believers and non-believers alike today, knowing that every true and good gift is ultimately from God!

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Series: Common Grace & Uncommon Work

Devotional: 2 of 5

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. (Luke 6:27)

Last week, we began exploring how our work should be uncommonly shaped by the reality of common grace: the goodness God shows to “the righteous and the unrighteous,” his friends and his enemies (see Matthew 5:45).

Today, we’ll see that common grace should lead us to be good to our enemies.

Interestingly, that’s the context of Matthew 5:45. Jesus said, “I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…because [God] makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45).

You see it right? Jesus is saying that we should do good to our enemies because of God’s common grace! God is so good that he longs to do good to “the righteous and the unrighteous.” And he’s calling you and me to be the conduits for his blessings.

Now, you may not have anyone at work you’d describe as an “enemy.” But do you have a boss who’s hard to love? Or a co-worker who’s spreading lies and gossip about you? Or a competitor who’s knocking-off your product? 

Of course you do. Everyone is currently working with or for someone they consider to be less than friendly. God isn’t calling you simply to “do no harm” to that person. But to proactively bless them! 

What does that look like practically?

Let’s say someone on your team (an employee, vendor, etc.) did a terrible job on a project, costing you a lot of time, energy, money, and maybe even social capital. They did such a bad job that they were fired or taken off of your team. Loving this “enemy” could look like:

• Praying that God would bless them in their careers
• Giving them feedback to help them in their future career (instead of, as I’m tempted to do, write the person off and get back to work)
• Proactively writing a LinkedIn recommendation that focuses on the things the person did do well
• Offer them forgiveness for how they wronged you
• Refusing to speak poorly about them with those who remain on the project

I’ve been in the situation above and have not loved my “enemy” well. But the doctrine of common grace reminds me that I’m called to do better next time. Because God is seeking to do good to the righteous and the unrighteous. With that in mind, love your enemies well at work today!

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Series: Common Grace & Uncommon Work

Devotional: 1 of 5

[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

When the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:8 that “it is by grace you have been saved,” he was referring to God’s saving grace: the grace that, through Christ, saves human beings from their sins.

Separate from saving grace is the doctrine of God’s common grace: the goodness God shows people regardless of their relationship with or faith in him.

That’s what Jesus was referring to in today’s passage when he said that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good” (Matthew 5:45). Christ was saying that, while God is the source of “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17), God chooses to give those gifts to “the righteous” and “to ungrateful and evil people” (Luke 6:35).

So, while only Christians are recipients of God’s saving grace, every human being is a constant  recipient of God’s common grace.

God does good to you and your atheist co-worker who claims God doesn’t exist, your competitor who lies and cheats, and your boss who slanders the name of Christ. God “sent rain” and food to Mother Teresa and to Hitler. 

How should you and I respond to the reality of God’s common grace?

I don’t know about you, but if I’m honest, my first reaction to that truth is anger—a reaction the psalmists are very familiar with (see Psalm 73 and 94 as just two examples).

But common grace also leads me to astonishing awe at the goodness of God. And a profound sense of gratefulness that God was good to me before I was hidden in Christ and that he continues to bless me today when I disobey the One who obediently went to the cross on my behalf.

Throughout this series, I’ll share 5 responses to common grace that lead to uncommon work. Here’s the first: Common grace should leave us dumbstruck at the goodness of God.

Take a moment right now to marvel at the goodness God has shown you and non-believers. And let that remembrance of his grace lead you to extend goodness and blessings to everyone you work with today!

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Series: Thanks for Thorns and Thistles
Devotional: 5 of 5

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:9-11)

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry stumbles upon an enchanted mirror. Unlike normal mirrors, this one does not show the reflection of the person standing in front of it. Instead, it shows a reflection of “the deepest, most desperate desire” of that person’s heart.

But the object inside the mirror is just a mirage—a tantalizing vision trapped on the other side of the glass. This, of course, drives the mirror’s visitors mad with frustration. 

But you and I both know this is a blessing in disguise. Because even if they were able to get their hands on the object of their affection, unless that object was Christ, it would inevitably disappoint.

My temptation, and I think yours, is to look to our careers for the very thing Harry was searching for inside that mirror—complete and cosmic joy. But as Jesus makes clear in today’s passage, our joy will only be made complete through his love.

Not through our families. Not through our health. Not through landing a promotion, selling your business, or being recognized in your field.

And so, we can praise God for the days when our work feels like less than complete joy. Because our “painful toil” is reminding us that Christ alone can fully satisfy us. For this reason, John Mark Comer says this:

“I think the curse is a blessing in camouflage. It’s God’s love in disguise. His mercy incognito. Because the curse drives us to God. If it weren’t for the curse…we would look to whatever it is we do for work or rest, and we would find it. And nothing could be more disastrous for the world than God’s image bearers finding identity and belonging and even satisfaction apart from him.”

Should we lament over cursed work? Absolutely! Because God didn’t design our work to be painful (see Genesis 1-2 and Isaiah 65).

But as we’ve seen in this series, we can also praise God for the blessings he brings us through cursed, frustrating, painfully difficult work. Because “thorns and thistles”:

1. Force us to rely on God
2. Humble us and compel us to rely on others
3. Lead us to long for eternity with Christ when work will be perfect once again
4. Create empathy that helps us to make work less painful for others
5. Ensure that nothing but Christ will ever fully satisfy us

In light of those truths, give thanks for the thorns and thistles you encounter in your work today!

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Series: Thanks for Thorns and Thistles
Devotional: 4 of 5

Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

When I was researching my next book, I read tons of dense books with “paragraphs” that spanned entire pages—sometimes multiple pages. Every time I approached another mammoth passage, I felt exhausted before I even began reading. It felt like the cognitive equivalent of staring up at Mount Everest before an ascent.

After complaining about my own pain long enough (first-world problems, I know), the Lord reminded me that I’ve written some long paragraphs myself. And if long paragraphs made my work feel arduous, my longwindedness probably makes your reading feel arduous too.

So I went back through the manuscript I was writing and took a machete to the document, chopping every paragraph down to size.

That’s a small example of one reason I think we can all give thanks for the “thorns and thistles” that make our work difficult: Painful work can create empathy that leads us to make work less painful for others. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, thorny work can lead you to, “look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

Let’s apply this principle to your own work today. 

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the number of meetings you’re being asked to attend this week. Instead of sitting in your own frustration, what if you channeled that pain into love for your neighbor? What if you looked at the meetings you’ve invited others to and questioned whether or not those meetings would serve them well?

Or let’s say you’re frustrated by emails that distract you at all hours of the day. Instead of focusing on “your own interests,” what if you looked “to the interests of others” who work for you? What if you sent them a message letting them off the hook for feeling like they have to respond immediately to your emails so that they can work with less distraction?

If you took those actions, you could certainly give thanks for the thorns and thistles in your work, because they will have led you to better love your neighbor as yourself.

Spend a couple of minutes in silence this morning naming which aspects of your work are most frustrating to you. Pray that God would allow that pain to lead to creative ideas for making work less painful for those you work with. And then give thanks that God can use even the broken things of this world for his glory and the good of others.

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Series: Thanks for Thorns and Thistles
Devotional: 3 of 5

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. (John 19:1-3)

God never intended for work to be painful and frustrating. According to Genesis 1 and 2, work was God’s first gift to humankind!

But when sin entered the world, the curse broke every part of creation, including the world of work. God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (see Genesis 3:17-18).

That backstory makes the Romans’ choice of a “crown of thorns” for Jesus all the more interesting. Knowingly or not, the Romans used a thorn—this symbol of the curse—to crown the One whose resurrection would overturn that curse. It is precisely because Christ allowed himself to be crowned with thorns that, three days later, we could sing:

No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

And Scripture makes clear that Christ’s blessings flow even to our cursed work. In Isaiah’s prophetic vision of the Eternal Heaven on Earth, he reports God as saying:

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth….[My people] will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit…my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain.” (Isaiah 65:17, 21-23)

No more thorns and thistles. No more painful toil. No more leaving the office demoralized by how little “real work” you got done. This is work as it was always intended to be and always will be on the New Earth.

Throughout this series, I’ve argued that we should lament and give thanks for the “thorns and thistles” that make our work difficult today. Everything we’ve just seen points to the next reason why: We should give thanks for thorns and thistles because they can lead us to long for eternity. And the more bitter our work in this life, the sweeter the hope of perfect work with Christ will be.

When your work feels painful today, look to Jesus’s crown of thorns and remember that redemption does indeed flow far as the curse is found—even to the thorns that thwart your work. And thank God for the thorns and thistles that lead you to hope for the day when you will “long enjoy the work of your hands.”

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Series: Thanks for Thorns and Thistles
Devotional: 2 of 5

When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble. (Proverbs 11:2)

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with one of my favorite authors—someone who has sold millions more books than I have.

I was picking my friend’s brain on publishing and book marketing, when all of a sudden, he started asking me questions about marketing children’s books.

Given the massive respect I have for this person, I was really taken aback by his questions. “Why are you asking me about book marketing?” I asked.

My friend replied, “Because I have not cracked the nut on children’s books, and honestly, it’s been a bit frustrating. You, on the other hand, seem to have figured this out.”

After muttering some false humility, my friend cut me off by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Jordan,” he said, “Everyone I meet is my superior in some way.”

I love that perspective. And my friend only had it because of the frustrating “thorns and thistles” he has experienced in his work (see Genesis 3:17-18).

Last week, we saw that we should give thanks for thorns and thistles because they force us to rely on God. But we should also thank God for our “painful toil” because it forces us to rely on others. That’s a tremendous blessing for two reasons.

First, when we rely on others we get wisdom! The pain caused by “thorns and thistles” leads to humility and that humility leads to wisdom (see Proverbs 11:2). 

Second, when we rely on others they get blessed! Because you are giving them a chance to use their God-given gifts to serve you. If the person you’re relying on is a believer, you’re giving them a chance to earn eternal rewards by helping you (see Ephesians 6:8)!

What problem can’t you seem to solve in your work today? Don’t pridefully keep it to yourself. Share your struggles with someone who can help. And thank God for the thorns and thistles that forced you to rely more on him and your neighbor.

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Series: Thanks for Thorns and Thistles
Devotional: 1 of 5

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.” (Genesis 3:17-18)

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I don’t know who coined this popular piece of fortune cookie wisdom, but I can tell you they never read Genesis 3.

After sin entered the world, God said that work will be “painful toil…all the days of your life.” Not “painful toil…until you choose a job you love.” Work will be frustrating until the New Earth (see Isaiah 65:17-23).

Now, I love what I do. I’ve never been more confident that creating content like these devotionals is the work God created me to do. And Lord willing, I’ll be helping you connect the gospel to your work for the next 50 years.

But even though I love my work, it sure feels like work some days. It’s hard, frustrating, and exhausting at times.

But here’s what I’m learning: Even though God never designed work to be painful (see Genesis 1 and 2), there are still great blessings to be found in the curse. There are reasons to give thanks for the “thorns and thistles” that make work difficult.

Over the next five weeks, I’m going to share five of those reasons with you. Here’s the first: We should give thanks for thorns and thistles because they force us to rely on God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

But if all of our paths were already straight, we wouldn’t see much of a need to “trust in the Lord with all our heart” would we? And so, we can thank God when we can’t see which path to take in our work because our lack of clarity forces us to “walk humbly with our God” (see Micah 6:8).

Where is the path painfully unclear in your work today? Are you frustrated with a boss or client and not sure how to deal with them? Are you unclear on how you’re going to hit payroll this month? Are you simply burnt out and don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel?

Lament over your “painful toil.” Then go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to “make your paths straight.” Then thank him for the “thorns and thistles” he’s using to lead you to rely on him.