Have You Given Jesus Control of Your Career?
By Rick Warren
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT, second edition).
If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, then give Jesus complete control of your life, including your career.
Luke 5:3 says, “Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat” (NCV).
The disciples had worked all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus stepped into their boat and told them to cast their nets again. When they did, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break! It was the same lake, the same boat, the same nets, the same fishermen, and the same fish. The only difference between nothing and fullness was Jesus is in the boat.
Here’s the starting point: You’ve got to get Jesus in your boat.
What’s your boat? It’s how you make a living. Simon’s business was his boat because he was a fisherman. The boat represents your career, your profession, your job, just like it represented Simon Peter’s entire livelihood.
What does it mean to have Jesus in your boat?
It means you dedicate your career to God. We’re not talking about salvation here. You may have Jesus in your life, but have you given him control of your career? You’ve trusted him for salvation and you go to church on the weekends and praise God. But when you go back to work during the week, is Jesus there and trusted in your job? Or do you put Jesus on the shelf?
When Simon Peter gave his job to Jesus, he was blessed with incredible results. But don’t miss the sequence. We sometimes think, “God, make me really successful in business, and then I’ll serve you with the success.” Wrong! It’s the exact opposite. First, Peter gave Jesus control of his job. Then Jesus blessed Peter’s job with enormous success. That’s the order.
The Bible says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT, second edition).
Whatever you want God to bless, put him first. You want God to bless your time? You give him the first part of every day. You want God to bless your money? You give him the first 10 percent of your income, no matter how small it is. You want God to bless your job? You give him control, no matter how successful you are.
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Talk It Over
- What would it look like if you gave control of your job to Jesus?
- What are your fears or concerns about making God the center of your career?
- How do you want God to bless you in your career? What do you think he wants you to do first?
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This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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