Are you sick and tired of your job? Wish you could win the Mega-Millions Jackpot and escape to paradise, never to work again? If so, maybe some reflection and a new perspective is in order about your purpose from God.
What you may not realize is that God gave mankind purpose. He endowed humans with the nature to work from the very beginning. They could not escape it, not even in paradise.
In Genesis chapters 1-2, God spectacularly created the universe and all that it contains. He spoke the heavens, planets, stars, plants, animals and finally human beings into existence. At the end of it all, after six days of creation God was very pleased with his creation and rested on the seventh day.
God issued an important command at the end of His creating. He told Adam and Eve, “…have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). In essence, God granted mankind authority to rule what He had just created.
Then God did something awesome. He created a garden of paradise – in a place called Eden. And God gave the first humans a purpose.
God Gave Purpose to Adam
Genesis 2:15 tells us that “…the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden…” God could have placed him anywhere on the face of the planet. He could have plopped him down in a wilderness area somewhere and watched from on high as he fended for himself.
Can you imagine how frustrating that would have been with no guidance from God? I’m sure Adam would have been thinking, “What’s my purpose?” “Why am I here?” “What am I supposed to do?”
But that wasn’t the case. God offered Adam guidance and direction as to what was to come next. And it’s clear that God was directly involved in where mankind ended up.
We should take great comfort in that thought. Similarly, God has specific places for us and where He wants us to be at certain times of our life. We should trust Him to guide and direct us to those places when He is ready.
Work in Paradise
The bigger picture here is that we are placed where God wants us with a clear purpose in mind. Look at Genesis 2:15 again – “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” “To tend and keep” signifies work.
There was no lying around in paradise. It doesn’t sound like the Garden of Eden could have taken care of itself if Adam and Eve had sat around all day. No, there was work to be done.
Now, I don’t know what that work was. The world was still in a state of perfection at this point. Surely there were no weeds to pull, pests to control or watering that needed to take place like in today’s gardens. But the message here is clear. They had work related responsibilities of some kind.
Adam and Eve were not just to lounge around and enjoy the fruits of paradise all day long. They were to be stewards of what God had given them. It was their purpose.
Related Content: The Earth is God’s and I Am His Steward
God and Your Purpose
So where has God placed you? Are you frustrated with your current work situation for some reason? Are you slacking off at work because of that frustration? Cutting corners? Dreaming of what is greener on the other side of the fence?
If this is the case consider these thoughts:
- God wants to use us for a some purpose. He plants us where we are needed at a given time. It may be a long time or a short time. But He is intently involved in the process of where we should be.
- Being perpetually idle should not enter our thinking. God instilled in humanity the need and desire to work. Resist the temptation to become lazy and coast through your life.
- Our work should be performed with passion and excellence, no matter how we feel about it at any given moment. We are to take care of our business (responsibilities) at work for as long as we are there.
- While it is OK to dream and plan for a better future career position, keep in mind that God’s timing for such career advancements takes precedence over our spur-of-the-moment, emotional career change reactions. Don’t get in God’s way if He is directing you to stay put or if He wants to move you somewhere else.
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When we keep these ideas in mind, then just like Adam and Eve, we can find pleasure in the work God calls us to. We can fulfill the purpose God has for us where we are at.
Leave a Comment or Answer a Question Below: Are you content in your current employment? How do you feel about the purpose God has placed on your life?
Photo courtesy of dylan nolte on Unsplash
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