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Your Career: Hiding Your Hands & Guarding Your Heart

CoolHappyGuy — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:10:59 +0000

Moses Job Interview with God

⁶And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

⁷And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. (Exodus 4:6-7, KJV)

Now the focus of God’s demonstration turns inward – into Moses’ character. The supernatural transformation of his hands pointed to a future when the supernatural would flow through Moses’ hands. The leprosy shows that the works that would flow through his hand and the authority he would bear literally carry a grave responsibility. In the bible, leprosy often symbolized sin. As a disease, leprosy meant exile from the rest of society. Similarly, sin serves to separate us from God. I think God was warning Moses about the dangers of acting and working on his own. The tucking of his hand into his bosom told Moses to pay particular attention to the issues of the heart.

²⁰My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

²³Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:20-23, KJV)

Guard your heart or suffer the consequences.

God repeats the command. He tells Moses to put his diseased hand back into his bosom. He does so and his hand is restored. God is telling Moses that listening to God’s voice will result in his protection while enabling the work of your hands to succeed. Note also that had Moses not followed God’s direction, his associates may have been calling him “Lefty.” Partial obedience is total disobedience. Moses is rising to a new level with God and to Israel. The importance of relying on God cannot be overestimated.

So it is with us. Sometimes in the course of listening and obeying God, he will take us where we do not want to go. We must rely on God to bring us through. If we do so, he will restore us and will work through us to do what we could not do on our own. We must take the works of our hands, the issues of our hearts, and our reliance on God with utmost seriousness. If we do so, God will work signs and wonders through our very own hands.

Staff Meeting With God: You Can Learn A Lot From A Snake!

CoolHappyGuy — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:46:31 +0000

Give Up Your Job

² So God said, “What’s that in your hand?” “A staff.”

³ “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast! (Exodus 4:2-3; Msg.)

God essentially asked Moses to turn his job over to Him. In order for us to have God’s best for us, we have to give it to him. We have to give up control of our professional destiny and turn it over to God.

Look what happened to Moses’ rod when he gave it up: it transformed into a snake. You see Egyptian Pharaohs wore a headdress with the likeness of a Cobra. When God changed the rod into a snake , he was telling Moses that he was going to use Moses’ new position to influence Pharaoh. I believe that the Moses’ rod became a cobra. I think so because when Moses came into the presence of Pharaoh and saw the snake headdress, God was using these occasions to remind Moses of his experience on Mount Horeb. You can bet that over the next few weeks, Moses was on Pharaoh’s mind even more so than that “snake-hat” of his.

The Power to Influence Authority

We have this same ability available to us: we can influence established authority to get God’s will accomplished in our workplace and beyond. We see this all through the bible. In the old testament, Daniel and Joseph had a lot of clout with the rulers of their day. Also Naaman’s healing from leprosy was the result of his heeding the advice of his wife’s servant girl. No matter where you are or what job you have, your influence can further God’s plans here on earth. This is why it’s necessary for you to surrender your job to him in the first place: so that he can have the freedom to work through you in a way that will far exceed your own abilities.

God Respects Authority

This also brings up a very important point: you must submit to the chain of command. Be sure to respect the authority that your boss has over you. You should respect authority because God respects authority. Think about it. God did not just send Moses in and just take the Israelites to the Promised Land. Pharaoh had to release them voluntarily. God had respect for Pharaoh’s authority — and Pharaoh was the anti-Christ! Well, maybe not the anti-Christ but a role mode for the anti-Christ. What the bible scholars call a “type” of the anti-Christ. So if God respects legitimate authority even when a really bad person holds that authority, shouldn’t we be more respectful of our bosses, pastors, and other authority figures even when they rub us the wrong way!

Skill and Wisdom

Serpents also represented wisdom and cunning. In Matthew 10:16 Jesus tells us to be “ … wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” By transforming the rod into a serpent, God was telling Moses that he would have divine wisdom on hand as he fulfilled God’s purpose for his life in his position. Godly wisdom will set you apart from your colleagues. When the prophet Daniel led a godly life, the Lord blessed him with “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” (Daniel 1:17) As a result, Daniel stood head and shoulders above everyone else in the workplace and, as a result, he had the ear of kings. You see, God doesn’t just want to promote you. He wants you to succeed. This gives you credibility when it comes time for you to step out in faith.

The Wisdom of the World is not Your Father’s Wisdom

God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. (Exodus 4:4; Msg.)

Note what God tells him: take the snake by the tail. It is generally not smart to take a highly venomous snake by the tail. That’s an invitation for a snakebite! This demonstrates that Godly wisdom sometimes runs counter of what the world expects. In other words, the wisdom of the world is not your Father’s wisdom. From the worldview, it is not considered smart, for example, to lead your group so that a river blocks the escape route against the world’s finest army. God deliberately used this very situation to deliver his people in a stunning victory. As you continue to put your trust in Him, he will lead you to victory.

Note that the snake reverted to its original rod form. This illustrates the pervasive influence of Godly wisdom into Moses’ position. When God promotes you, He fully integrates your position with the wisdom needed to successfully carry out your commission. He makes available unlimited access to His wisdom (James 1:5) when you need it.

Technorati Tags: Career advice,Bible Study,Moses

Job Interview with God: Moses Gets A Promotion

CoolHappyGuy — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:12:02 +0000

⁷The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. ⁸“So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ⁹“Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10; NASB)

In these passages, we see God’s will for Moses: deliverance of God’s people from captivity. As God speaks to us more often then not the topic of the conversation is service to others. This is the purpose of promotion from above. God uses people as a source of blessing to others. While the vocational worldview emphasizes the corner office, hefty salaries, and other perks; God focus is on transforming peoples’ lives so that He can enjoy fellowship with them.

Where You Are Does Not Hinder Where You Are Going

And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. (Exodus 4:2; KJV).

If God is omniscient, why would He ask this question? God knew perfectly well what was in Moses’ hand. He was setting Moses up for a demonstration of His miraculous power through the tool of the shepherding trade: the rod. The rod tangibly symbolized Moses’ authority as a shepherd. Rods were used to protect the flock from animals that would inflict harm. Shepherd boys would often hold contests to determine who could throw their rods most accurately over the greatest distance.

The shepherd’s duties required keeping the sheep moving toward suitable grazing fields. It was therefore necessary to carry a minimum of equipment. The rod was the most important “tool” in the shepherd’s toolbox. The rod was often used to inspect individual sheep in order to part the wool and check for bugs or injuries. The rod was also used to keep track of the herd: the shepherd would count sheep that passed under his rod.

Apprentice shepherds would carefully choose the tree limbs that they would ultimately use as their rod. Once chosen, they would carve these limbs into an instrument that would precisely fit their hands and match their stride. Such meticulous attention to detail took into account the fact that this rod was often the shepherd’s only defense against predators, rustlers, and trespassers.

God brought Moses’ attention to his rod. In effect, he was saying, “I understand you and your situation. Where you are will not hinder where you are going for I AM going with you. As you use the rod to protect the sheep, so you will receive my protection. As you use the rod to minister to the sheep and keep track of them so I will minister to your needs and keep my eye on you.” God was about to give Moses an object lesson that would serve to demonstrate an incredible vocational change with new God-infused abilities, provisions, and responsibilities.

The Lord was also giving Moses a foretaste of his new vocation. Instead of sheep, Moses would shepherd a nation. His divinely turbocharged rod would protect, correct, and keep track of people – lots of them! The skills that he learned in backwater Midian would be magnified by God to liberate a people while changing the destiny of the whole world.

What has God been saying to you about your job? What is teaching you through your present job? What lessons have you learned from past employment?

What is that in thine hand?

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Vocational Probation and Preparation for Liberation

CoolHappyGuy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:39:59 +0000

When Moses encountered God at Mount Horeb (Exodus chapters 3 and 4), the course of history was changed forever. In the midst of the burning bush, God directed Moses’ on a path that would directly affect the immediate future of nations. What is not often emphasized in Bible commentaries, however, is that during this discussion God is revealing His plan, purpose, and tools as they relate to our vocation.

God Visits Moses at Work

1. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (Exodus 3:1-4; KJV).

During the time of God’s appearance, Moses was in his exile from Egypt (Exodus 2:11-15). He had fled from a position of privilege among Egyptian royalty to the wilderness of Midian where he tended the sheep of his father-in-law for 40 years. His flight arose because of his intervention on behalf of a Hebrew that resulted in the death of an Egyptian. Moses professional sacrifice as a result of taking a principled (if, perhaps, overly zealous!) stand against his oppressed kinsmen did not go unnoticed by God. The Lord used the intervening period to prepare Moses and to set in place the circumstances that would result in the liberation of a people and the beginnings of a nation that would be the source of blessing to the entire world (Genesis 12:2-3).

When Moses encounters the presence of God, he makes a determined effort to draw closer to Him (“I will turn aside …”) and makes himself available (“Here am I”). Also noteworthy is that Moses was not seeking a job change but it came to him. God has designed you on purpose for a purpose. You are uniquely qualified to do His will in a mind-blowing way here on Earth even in an ostensibly dead-end job.

Seek God and make yourself available to Him. Who knows? As in the case of Moses, you may be setting yourself up for the ultimate job interview.

Technorati Tags: Bible Study,Career advice

With God There are NO Dead End Jobs

CoolHappyGuy — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:25:25 +0000

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Exodus 3:1; NIV)

As we read the Bible verses such as this one tend to be overlooked but there is a wealth of instruction wrapped up in this one verse. Moses had run away from a privileged life to shepherd sheep in backwater Midian for forty years. Certainly if anyone had a right to complain about being stuck in a dead end job it was Moses. Yet he did not grumble about his vocational circumstances. As far as we know, he was quite content in his role as caretaker for Jethro’s flocks. He did not whine about how he could do “so much more …”

God is “On The Job” with You

In the faithful discharge of his duties, Moses was maintaining his relationship with Jehovah God Almighty ([He] led the flock … to … the mountain of God). Many of us tend to think that God only will visit, speak, fellowship during times of prayer and worship. Certainly this is the case but God will speak to you ANYWHERE even during the most mundane, monotonous moments of our employment. We need only to listen.

Faithfulness is the Key to Promotion

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matthew 25:21; ASV)

In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. (Colossians 3:23;New Century)

You may find yourself in a position that is only temporary it is still important that you discharge your duties faithfully. You may also find yourself working for someone who may be a real creep less than perfect example of a boss. You still need to show him/her respect worthy of their position (rather than their behavior). Your present employment is not by accident. You should seek God about your career no matter what position you are currently holding down.

As far as the Originator of life is concerned, there are NO dead-end jobs. God’s speciality is life.

Your job is important to God because YOU are VERY IMPORTANT to God. Your position is more than a paycheck, the Lord is using this position to teach you something while getting to know Him. While you report to a human, you are really working for God.

⁶For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁷But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. (Psalm 75:6-7; KJV)

God is your co-worker as He works on your behalf while He works within you. Have you talked to Him lately. He gives great career advice. Give your dead-ends to the Resurrection and the Life.

Related: Top 25 jobs without a degree

Technorati Tags: Career advice,Bible Study