Read and Grow

How can God use me in my secular workplace?

Have you ever felt like you’re not living a life “on mission” because you work in a secular career? Perhaps you have a burning desire to make a difference in the world, but you feel confined by your day to day responsibilities of work/study.

As Christians, it’s easy to develop a mindset that our “Christian life” is separate from our “Monday-Friday life”. Sometimes we can have the perspective that the spiritual practices in our life are important to God, but the secular ones such as going to work, don’t matter (or at least, not as much). We can assume that God is nearer when we’re doing spiritual things, but not as close when we’re going about our day-to-day lives. But God is omnipresent; He is with you wherever you go, and He cares about every aspect of your life. You don’t have a “spiritual life” and a “secular life”- the Holy Spirit lives in you, so your whole life – including your career – is spirit-filled!

Your job can be your ministry and your workplace can be your mission field.

You don’t have to be a missionary to be on mission. You might be the only Christian that your workmates encounter, so that’s a great opportunity for you to be an example of Jesus. This could look like making choices to act above reproach in all circumstances, including at work. Or not engaging in office gossip, choosing to be a peacemaker when conflict arises, or being kind and generous to those you work with. These are good examples but the opportunities are almost endless for you to be an influence for the gospel within the arena of your career. As you grow in awareness that your workplace is your ministry, you will naturally begin to notice opportunities to share your faith.

Know that your gifts are God-given; therefore, do everything as if you were doing it for God.

God isn’t just with you in the big moments; He is with you in the everyday, mundane tasks of life. You can serve Him in everything you do! In the book of Romans, Paul puts it like this:

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him (Romans 12:1, MSG)

God created you with individual gifts, talents and skills, to be used for His glory. So whatever your sphere is, own it! Do great work - be an amazing IT specialist, graphic designer, carpenter, nurse etc. Allow your dedication and the beauty of your craft to be an act of worship.

3 tips to owning your sphere:

1. Spend some time in God’s presence on your way to work. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you opportunities to be Jesus to your workmates.

2. Write out a mission statement which highlights your purpose/values in the workplace (hint: ask yourself “what do I want to be known for after I leave?”)

3. Reflect on your gifts, talents and skills. How could you use them for God’s purpose?

Whatever sphere you find yourself in, you can be an influencer for Jesus. How can you own your sphere this week?

Having a friend tell you that they want to learn more about Jesus is a really exciting experience. It can feel like a huge and wonderful responsibility; like you’re finally living out your purpose as a Christian (insert an adrenaline rush and praise songs here).

Easter is a common time for people to start asking questions about Jesus. While you might feel prepared to begin this journey with them, have you thought about the long-haul, or the potential for future disappointment? It’s important to prepare yourself for that, too.

What to do when a friend loses interest

When your friend first asks you about Jesus, you’ll naturally want to expose them to everything—Bible studies, church services, paying them a visit, giving them a Bible, or sending them sermons to watch online. In fact, you might have to “play it cool” and hold yourself back from bombarding them with too much information.

If your friend is receptive, you’ll get to witness them engaging with church for the first time and seeing their eyes light up when they learn new truths about the Bible, and about themselves. This can bring intense joy and fulfillment—both to them, and to you.

But sometimes as they journey with you, they might stop replying to your messages. They might stop turning up to Bible studies, asking questions, or showing interest. This can be really disappointing. You might start to wonder if they were offended by something you said, or if you came on too strong. You might even doubt God and His plan.

When spiritual conversations or relationships lose momentum, what should you do?

Step 1: Learn from the disciples

Firstly, you can take encouragement from the disciples’ experience. Walking with Jesus for 3 years, the disciples witnessed incredible miracles, teachings and grew in their relationship with God. But even though Jesus preached about a heavenly Kingdom and His death, they didn’t understand what He meant.

When Jesus died and lay in the tomb on Saturday, the disciples didn’t know what to do. They were devastated and began to doubt. How could their Messiah be the Son of God if He was dead? Were the last three years of their lives all a lie?

If a friend loses interest in their Christian journey, you might start to doubt and question too. Did your friend actually like coming to church, or were they just being polite? Were the revelations they experienced genuine, or just emotional highs?

When Jesus rose again on the third day, suddenly the whole gospel message made sense. Jesus was the Son of God because He had conquered death! This spurred the disciples on and they began to spread the Gospel with their communities, and the wider world. God had been in control the whole time.

Step 2: Get practical

If you have a friend who has lost interest in Jesus, take heart. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) God’s still in control, and He’s doing everything in His power to bring them back into a relationship with Him. But there are practical steps you can take, as well:

PRAY: Pray that the Holy Spirit will open your friends’ eyes to the importance of Jesus, the Bible and being in Christian community. Pray that their desire for Jesus will be revived.

CONNECT: Send your friend a DM asking if they want to catch up for a meal or coffee. If you’re afraid you might scare them away, you can even say, “I promise I won’t be pushy or talk about church if you don’t want to, I just want to see how you’re going.”

INVITE: If you think your friend would be open to it, invite them to your church’s Easter service. Easter is a popular time for even nominal Christians to attend church, so it can be a non-threatening opportunity.

If you have a friend who’s lost touch with your church community recently, Easter is a great time to get in contact. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday—don’t waste the opportunity! And who knows—just like Jesus rose on the third day, there could be a wonderful spiritual journey still in store for your friend too. You just wait and see!

As a Christian, you’re often told that you should get excited when people ask you about your faith—like it’s the best thing that could ever happen to you. But . . . if instead of excitement you feel dread, anxiety or shame, you’re not alone.

Sharing your faith can be a stressful experience for many reasons. Maybe:

• You get stressed because your Bible knowledge isn’t what it should be
• You haven’t been to church in months and feel distant from God
• There’s a specific sin you’re still struggling with
• You just don’t feel . . . good enough

Sometimes, we think that our sins or imperfections make us unqualified to share the gospel. If you struggle with feelings of unworthiness, having someone ask you “so what has Jesus done in your life?” can be awkward. You might feel like a fake, or a fraud—as though your sinful thoughts or habits cancel out any previous work Jesus has done in your life.

Church culture usually doesn’t help, either. For centuries, many Christian denominations have—consciously or not—upheld arbitrary standards of “perfection” that Christians should aspire to, which might make you feel like you’re not good enough to be loved by God.

This is all one massive, poisonous lie, and it’s actually a fundamental misunderstanding of what the gospel message is. The gospel isn’t that Jesus has made you perfect. It’s that even though you are a sinner, Jesus died for you and chooses to love you, every millisecond of every day (Romans 5:8). And nothing you can do will ever change that (Romans 8:39)!

The gospel is for you, too.

It’s tempting to believe that the gospel is for others, but not for us. This is toxic thinking, and simply not true! The Bible says that when Jesus died at Easter time, He “personally carried our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24, NLT).

In other words, Jesus—being fully God and fully human—carried all the sins committed by every person on earth. That includes you! He has seen and felt all your insecurities, shame, trauma, jealousy, self-hatred and selfishness. As humans, we can’t fully understand this. Our human bodies limit the amount of physical and emotional pain we can carry. But He carried all of it. He knows every intimate detail about you, and He still loves you infinitely.

So, what was that you said about not feeling “good enough”? If the Creator of the universe thought you were good enough to die for, then you’re good enough to do anything! (Yes, even share your faith).

Here are some things to remember next time you feel unworthy:

Remember the gospel message is for YOU!

Despite your sin, God loves you infinitely. That’s the real good news! It can be tempting to think that it only applies to other people . . . but nope! The gospel is for you too.

Remember that you don’t have to fix yourself:

By universal standards, humans are imperfect beings. And there is nothing we can do to change that (John 3:6-7). God is the only one capable of changing us from the inside out. Trust that He’s in control of that process.

Seek Jesus in prayer:

Take some quiet time and tell Jesus how you feel. Ask Him for forgiveness and a new heart (Psalm 51:10), and thank Him for loving you no matter what.

Be honest when you tell your story:

Opening up and honestly telling your friend, “Jesus has done so much in my life, but I still struggle and have a way to go” is far more encouraging than pretending to be perfect. It makes God’s love accessible to everyone.

If you’ve been feeling discouraged because you believe your sin makes you unqualified to share Jesus, take heart this Easter. God took your sin to the cross. You’ve been forgiven. Just as He rose from death to life, He wants to give you a new life free of sin (Ezekiel 36:26).

Pray that God will give you a new heart this Easter, and that the Holy Spirit will be with you as you share, even the messy bits.

Life can feel like a battlefield. Our personal and professional priorities constantly fight for our attention. On any day there can be dozens of important tasks to be done, yet so often we miss what’s most important. As Christians, how do we prioritize something like spending time with the Holy Spirit?

Action beats intention every time.

A study in the British Journal of Health and Psychology found that 91% of people who actually planned the details of their physical exercise ended up following through with that commitment. As a Christian, cultivating your relationship with the Holy Spirit should be a high priority. The problem is in our busy world we either forget its importance or we become so distracted with everything else that it never gets done. The solution is to start with action.

Don’t just tell yourself “I’m going to spend time with God tomorrow”. Plan it.

Not just in vague terms; plan the time and the location. Some people like to use their commute; other people like to find a quiet spot at the beach or in nature. Try to avoid places that have lots of distractions. Think about the place and picture yourself there.

Now that you’ve chosen a time and location, set a reminder on your phone. This will help to remind you, but more so—the very act of setting the reminder is already a confirmation of your commitment.

Congratulations, you are on your way! God wants you to build a strong connection with the Holy Spirit, He will help you with this. So ask for His help.

Start building your relationship with the Holy Spirit right now.

• Step 1 - Decide on a time and location that works.
• Step 2 - Put a reminder on your phone.
• Step 3 - Ask for God’s help.

Look at that! You’re already 3 steps along the journey! Keep going!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." - Romans 15:13