Sunday evenings are a little hard for me. After a nice, relaxing weekend with my
husband and family, reality sets in and I mentally and reluctantly prepare myself
for the work week ahead. I find myself
wishing that I could stay at church all week instead of going to work, because
of the safety and comfort I get from my church family, the sermons and bible
studies. Lately, a lot of people have
retired from my place of work, and I catch myself envying them, wishing that I no
longer had to work. Once Monday comes
and I get myself back into the swing of things and the daily grind, I get over
this Sunday evening blues, and am back in full force, attending to my job with
dedication and perseverance. However, come
Sunday, the cycle begins again. I know I
am in need of an attitude adjustment; my husband reminds me of this every
Sunday when I start complaining. Why do I
dig in my heels on Sunday evenings and fight against it? I know we all have to
work; that is what the Lord wants us to do; and the bible says we can find great reward
and satisfaction in work (Ecclesiastes 2:24). I am very grateful for my job; it
is a good place to be, it is very rewarding at times, I work with good people,
and it provides for all my needs. I know this regular, weekly grumbling session
I do is something that the Lord wants me to work on, and it is a little bit of
a struggle for me.
Like all workplaces, there is good and bad. Right now we are very busy, and I find myself
exhausted at the end of the day. I work
with the public, so that can present some challenges at times. There can be
personality clashes or misunderstandings, so that doesn’t help things. As in every office setting, there are things
that are ideal, and some things that are less than ideal. Instead of wishing that I could change them
or that someone would do something about these situations, I find myself
reaching out to the Lord for strength and endurance. The scripture that gets me through the tough
days is “Whatever you do, work at it with
all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know
that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord
Christ you are serving.” –Colossians 3:23-24. I have this scripture taped
to my computer to remind me of this when I find myself feeling overwhelmed or
frustrated. When I stop and read this, the peace of Lord comes upon me to give
me strength.
I always like to find examples in the bible of whatever particular
situation I am going through. When I am
enduring stressful work situations, I like to look at the example of
Daniel. Some people might think that they
have a terrible boss, but I don’t think anyone could have had a terrible of a
boss as King Nebuchadnezzar. He was a
powerful, brutal, and prideful king. One day he had an unsettling dream, and called
upon all the wise men and astrologers to interpret it for him. When they
couldn’t, he had them all killed. But Daniel was able to interpret his dream, through
God of course, and when he did, Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel and “gave him many great gifts, and made him
ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief administrator of all the
wise men in Babylon” (Daniel 2:48). What
a promotion! But even with all the respect and advancement Daniel received from
Nebuchadnezzar, he still couldn’t have been an easy boss to work for. He was so prideful that he had a huge image
of gold (about 90 feet high by 9 feet wide) erected and commanded that everyone
bow down to this image when certain music was played. If they didn’t bow down, they were to be
thrown into a burning fiery furnace! When I really stop and think about the
type of person Daniel’s boss was, it makes it easier for me to appreciate the
fact that my work situation or boss is nowhere near what Daniel had to endure, And
I am encouraged by seeing what type of person Daniel must have been. When Nebuchadnezzar became insane and lived
like an animal in the wilderness for seven years, it is believed that Daniel may
have helped care for him at times. Years later, when Daniel worked for King
Darius, he again made such an impression with his excellent work ethic, that
Darius wanted to promote him, setting him above all the other kingdoms (Daniel 6:3). As we sometimes see in our own work
environments, jealousy set in, and his co-workers conspired against him and
made trouble for him by deviously getting the King to sign a decree that praying
in the open was punishable by death, death by lions to be exact. Of course Daniel continued to pray, as we
obey God rather than man. When the king found out, his reaction is a testament
to the love and admiration he had towards Daniel: he was devastated. He fought
with all his might to have the law reversed, and when nothing could be done, he
had to follow through with his own law. When I read this story, I was so
touched by how Darius felt towards Daniel.
He obviously felt sorrow and remorse, as evidenced by his not being able
to sleep or eat. Very early the next morning, Darius rushed over to the lion’s
den and cried out to Daniel, asking if his God was able to save him. He was so filled
with gladness that Daniel was still alive and immediately had him brought up,
and had the guys who conspired against Daniel throw in the lion’s den.
What an excellent example Daniel was. He was a dedicated, loyal, and reliable
employee. His bosses, great kings, greatly cared for him and respected him. And
Daniel also cared for his bosses, not wishing any harm to come to them; he was
also tactful, yet honest with them. When he had to relay the bad news behind
the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he said “My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its
interpretation to your adversaries! (Daniel 4:19). Even
though his superiors may have done some pretty terrible things, Daniel still
was the model employee. He served the Lord first and foremost, and would not
compromise his beliefs, even if that meant death. But he still treated his
superiors with respect and honor, going above and beyond putting in a day’s
work. He worked as he was working for the Lord, and by this, he was able to endure
working in some pretty unfavorable circumstances, yet excelling in his duties
as he did so. That is the kind of employee I want to be. By Daniel’s faith, he was an excellent
witness for the Lord to his superiors and his co-workers. Because of his exceptional work ethic, he was
considered trustworthy and was respected, and as a result, was elevated and
given many responsibilities. The story of Daniel reminds me that no matter
how difficult my work situation may be, the Lord will give me strength to
endure, and when I work as I am working for the Lord, I will be blessed in many
ways, primarily, by knowing I am working for my King, King Jesus.