Finding God at Work

What can you do when the fire has gone out in your career? When you're bruised by injustice or burned missed opportunity, it can feel like the deck is stacked against you. Sometimes it's easier to resign yourself to the situation than to keep fighting for an ever-more-elusive dream. But when we find ourselves feeling resigned about our career, it may be an opportunity for a renewed experience of G...

"This isn't what I signed up for." Have you ever had that thought about your career? When our careers don't go the way we dreamed or planned, it's easy to slip into bitterness, resentment, and anger. But those feelings can also be a clue, a starting point rather than an ending point. As we get honest with ourselves and with God about our unmet expectations and desires, it can lead to real spiritua...

Chris interviews Dr. Meryl Herr about her new book, When Work Hurts: Building Resilience When You're Beat Up or Burnt Out . Hear about how the biblical story of Nehemiah gives us a paradigm for faithfulness in a toxic work environment, how our sense of calling can be a double-edged sword, and how to discern when it's time to leave. Meryl Herr (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) owns and run...

It's so frustrating to be underestimated by your boss. It can be demoralizing, even humiliating. But there's also spiritual opportunity there: opportunity for Christ-like self-advocacy, and for letting love overcome resentment. Sources: Romans 12:16-24 (NIV) Acts 24 (NIV) u/Dangerous_Sundae3138, "How to deal with a boss who is constantly putting you and your skillset/experience down?" r/ManagedByN...

Our careers don't always keep pace with our capacities. After years of developing a specific skillset, we sometimes find ourselves stuck in a job that doesn't use it. Or, as we're growing, we just don't get the chance that we know we're ready for. When you're in that situation, you feel the hit in your finances, your reputation, and your sense of vocation. But could that painful place also be a pl...

Losing your job can be one of the most miserable experiences of adult life. But could it also be a moment of spiritual opportunity? Sources: Romans 12:15 (NIV) Proverbs 22:29 (NIV) Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 (NIV) Romans 12:3 (NIV) Mathew 6:25-27 (NIV) Luke 15:28-32 (NIV) Note: In the podcast episode itself I accidentally say "Romans 12:12" instead of "Romans 12:15" and "Matthew 5" instead of "Matthew 6...

We kick off a new series with this episode— Divine Disappointments: Facing Pain and Sorrow at Work .   Work isn't just hard. Often, it hurts.   It hurts when we're stuck in toxic workplaces, when we're fired or laid off, when we struggle with burnout, when we get overlooked, when we fail, when we face loss of reputation.   It hurts when your career doesn't go the way you dreamed it would.   But yo...

If you want to engage the conversation about faith and politics more deeply, check out these thinkers and leaders. Sources: Proverbs 3:33-34 (ESV) Bonnie Kristian, Staff Editor at Christianity Today Michael Wear, Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life Justin Giboney, Founder and President of the AND Campaign Matthew Soerens, VP of Advocacy and Policy at World Rel...

Can you articulate a commitment to a Gospel value while also charitably presenting the political viewpoint that is opposite to your own?   Food insecurity—lack of consistent access to the food needed to live a healthy and active life—is a serious issue, even here in the United States. It's also an issue that stirs us as disciples of Jesus; caring for those who don't have the food they need is an i...

What does it look like to bring compassion and conviction together in conversations about abortion?   Often, the cultural debate focuses on the question of law: What should be legal or illegal. It's a critical question.   But as disciples of Jesus, our care extends beyond the question of what's legal or not. Not only do we care about just law, we also care about the whole social fabric of the comm...

Migration is part of the story that God is telling in the world.   Often, when the topic of immigration comes up, we think about how to defend "our turf." But what if the Bible gives us a different way of thinking about turf?   When we look at God's instructions to his people in the Torah, we find a call to compassion and empathy toward immigrants.   As we make the leap from those instructions to...

"True integration will be achieved by men who are willingly obedient to unenforceable obligations." – Martin Luther King, Jr. Sources: Proverbs 29:4,7,14 (NIV) Isaiah 10:1-4 (NIV) Isaiah 16:4-5 (NIV) Romans 13:8-10 (NIV) Michael Wear, The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2024). Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here:...

Political campaigns are always about the future. From "Let Us Have Peace" (U.S. Grant's 1868 slogan) to FDR's "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1932) to "Change We Can Believe In," the message is *hope.* Things will get better. There's something to look forward to.   But we know that somehow we keep finding ourselves stuck in the mud as human beings. Our efforts to establish justice, to make things bet...

What does it mean to give Jesus our allegiance?   When the chips are down and we have to make a choice between loyalty to Jesus and loyalty to country, party, or movement, who do we choose?   Do we take up our cross even if it means laying down our lives?   Or do we end up choosing a different kingdom over the kingdom of God?   If we do, we are calling on a different king than Jesus. Sources: Luke...

When is it right to speak up about a political issue in the workplace?   We need discernment. Spouting off every opinion we happen to have is not the same as courageous witness.   At the same time, there are times when we need the courage to speak up. Scripture calls us to speak in a way that will "benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29 NIV). Taking a political stand can build others up in at l...

What adjectives would you use to describe political conversations you've had throughout your life?   Awkward?   Loaded?   Angry?   What about . . . gentle?   We have strong feelings about politics because politics is about people, and people matter. So what does it look like for us to practice gentleness with our own strong feelings about politics?   When we learn to practice gentleness even in th...

When it comes to politics, our personality shapes how we want to engage—or disengage.   Maybe you're an armchair pundit, always reading the news and staying informed (and opinionated) about current events.   Maybe you find politics distasteful and try to avoid them as much as possible.   We have different God-given personalities, and that's okay. But all of us who follow Jesus are students of Scri...

In the story of Hannah, we see someone coming to God in a moment of profound personal grief. In her "deep anguish," Hannah turns to prayer (1 Samuel 1:10 NIV).   This moment doesn't seem like it has to do with politics at first. But Hannah's prayerful attitude puts her at the center of God's redemptive political action in ancient Israel. Hannah sees that the Lord is the one who "humbles and . . ....

We kick off a new series with this episode— Take A Stand: Faithful Political Witness at Work . Politics this year in the United States and around the world is just as fraught as ever. At times, it can be tempting to ignore political issues. When they come up at work, it can be awkward. But as disciples of Jesus, engaging political issues is part of loving our neighbors. Even if you don't feel deep...

Chris interviews Abbot Dan Nobles of Christ Mission Anglican Benedictines and Wandering Monk Hikes . Abbot Dan talks about how he unexpectedly became a monk after his military career, the healing journey of contemplative prayer, and returning to our "center of gravity" in the middle of the work day.  #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #MentalHealth #TheologicalAnthropology #ChristianHolism #TheGospel...

We don't just need good teachings or ideas about human nature and mental health. We need a vision of human life and love and work as it's meant to be. When we let Jesus be our anthropologist, we learn his teachings on the human person. But Jesus is more than that. He's also the true anthropos : the true human being. He shows us the life we were meant for, and he invites us into it. Sources: Luke 1...

Can work be a place of healing? Certain workplaces are traumatizing in themselves. But at its best, work is an ennobling experience. It confirms our sense of agency. It helps us gain confidence. It confers meaning on our time. When work is like this, it can even serve as a place of healing for past wounds—particularly the wound of learned helplessness. By God's grace, work is often where we discov...

According to the University of Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), trauma is "the lasting emotional response that often results from living through a distressing event." Sometimes we don't even realize that our emotional responses to certain situations at work are rooted in our own trauma. Yesterday's distressing event is today's emotional workday overwhelm. Trauma isn't an expl...

Every brain is different. That's what "neurodiversity" means. Neuro = brain; diversity = different. Neurodiversity is a feature of human experience, not a bug. It's an expression of God's creativity.   What does that mean for us in the workplace?   It means that every team is a motley crew, made up of people with unique ways of thinking and navigating work and life.   We can follow Jesus' example...

The recovery mindset is, "I want to find out where life really is."   It's admitting the problem and committing to radical change.   It's saying, like David, "For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3 ESV).   When we come to God with "a broken spirit and a contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17 ESV), we discover not just how merciful he is, but also his power for real change. So...