A Prayer to Work as a Witness, Not Just an Employee - Your Daily Prayer - August 17

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A Prayer to Work as a Witness, Not Just an Employee
By Whitney Hopler

Bible Reading:
“Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” – Genesis 39:20-21

Listen or Read Below:

It’s easy to feel trapped by your current workplace if you feel stuck in a job that feels meaningless, draining, or even toxic. You might wonder if your daily work in an environment like that even matters to God. Feeling stuck in a difficult workplace can feel a lot like a prison sentence.

Genesis chapter 39 shows that Joseph knew exactly what it felt like to be trapped in a miserable workplace. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers, taken to a foreign place, and forced to work as a servant. Then he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife after he refused her attempts to seduce him. Even though he didn’t commit a crime, Joseph is thrown into  prison.

Joseph endured so much injustice that he had many reasons to give up, complain, and do the bare minimum just to survive. But the Bible tells us that in those terrible circumstances, God was right there in prison with him. Joseph didn’t just survive his captivity; he actually thrived so much by staying faithful to God that the prison warden put him in charge of the entire facility. Joseph understood a powerful truth: Serving as a witness for God is important wherever we are.

Even if you feel like you’re working in a prison, God is inviting you to change your perspective and see yourself as a witness, not just an employee.

When you view your job as just employment, your focus is entirely on what you get out of it – your paycheck, your benefits, and your comfort. If the environment is challenging for you, it affects your attitude, making you feel stressed and stuck.

But when you change your perspective and view your job as a witness, your focus shifts to what God wants to do through you in your job. That opens up lots of important possibilities and encourages you that your work is part of fulfilling God’s purposes for your life.

Joseph worked with such excellence and integrity that his pagan jailers could see there was something different and positive about him. They recognized God at work in Joseph’s life.

In your own work, everything you do to serve as a faithful witness to God will be a powerful way of showing others the reality of God’s goodness. Working hard, being honest, refusing to participate in gossip, staying calm under pressure, and treating others with respect and kindness will show your coworkers that you work for a good God. People will then be inspired to seek God on their own.

If you feel stuck or unappreciated in your job right now, take comfort in knowing that God is right there with you at work every day. You can notice God’s presence with you when you reach out to God in prayer. God hasn’t abandoned you to this workplace. In fact, God may have strategically placed you there because people you work with need to see God’s love, and they can see that through your faithful service as a witness.

Your current job might not be your dream job, but it is your current mission field. When you change your mindset from thinking “I have to go to work” to “I get to be a witness,” you can see that even your most challenging work tasks have eternal significance. Trust that God is using this season to shape your character, build your endurance, and shine his light through you to a world that desperately needs it.

Let’s Pray

Dear God, I confess that some days it’s incredibly hard for me to go to work. It’s easy for me to feel frustrated, undervalued, and trapped in this job. Please forgive me for the times I’ve complained and lost sight of your bigger picture. Please change my perspective. God, help me to see my work not just as a job, but as my current assignment from you. I want to be a witness, not just an employee. Even when the environment around me is stressful, remind me that you’re right here with me, just as you were with Joseph in prison. Give me the strength to give you my best work. Let your kindness flow through my words and my actions. Help me to love the coworkers who are hard to love, to honor my superiors, and to bring peace into stressful situations. May the people I work with see something different and positive in me and recognize your work in my life, so they’ll be inspired to seek you themselves. I commit all of my work to you, and I trust that you’re using me for your eternal purposes. Thank you, God. Amen.

Discuss today’s devotional with others in the Your Daily Prayer thread on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: © Unsplash/Nathan Dumlao

Whitney Hopler helps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work at George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website at www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.

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