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You Don’t Go to Work Alone

Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling
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For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

Luke 12:12

Years ago, a friend gave me a small framed print highlighting a verse from the Gospel of Luke: “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

She handed me the gift a few minutes before I stepped to the podium to deliver a keynote address. Her gift was a reminder that when I stood before the audience, I didn’t stand there alone. The Holy Spirit would be with me.

After the talk, I set the framed print on my desk, and it has stayed there ever since, because I need to remember the words of Christ every day, in my ordinary work.

Jesus first spoke those words to his disciples in the context of their ministry. Jesus was assuaging fear among the disciples about what to say. He told them plainly that the Holy Spirit would supply them with the right words.

But Jesus’ words are not only for the preachers and the missionaries. His promise is for all of us, no matter where our work takes us. The same Holy Spirit—who supplied the disciples with the right words—works within each of us today. There’s nothing in the fine print to suggest that the Holy Spirit is available only to those in ordained ministry.

I need to know that truth when I move throughout my ordinary workday, meeting deadlines, paying bills, and answering phone calls.

Many of us spend most of our waking hours in some form of work, whether at home with children or at the office with clients. Our days are consumed with reports, meetings, and conference calls. Many of us face hard decisions that affect our customers, our co-workers, and our company’s bottom line.

Here’s what we need to know: God doesn’t send us out the door with our briefcases in the morning, wave goodbye, and say to us: “Well, have a great day at work. I’ll see you around supper time!”

God literally goes with us. He promised in Scripture never to leave us or forsake us. We have a Helper. And He is saying to us today, “Trust me. I will teach you ‘in that very hour’ what you need to do and say.”

He is saying to us: “I am with you always.”

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Do you sense that the Holy Spirit is working in you—and with you—in your daily work? If not, why not? If so, how do you sense His presence?

PRAYER: Dear God, we spend so much of our life doing ordinary work, and we confess that we feel isolated from you at times. Help us to remember what you promised. Remind us that you are working in us and with us. As we move through our days, may we remember that you are our companion, offering strength and wisdom. Teach us to listen to you, and to remember that we are never alone. Amen.

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God at Work

Where is God? Does he inhabit only the sanctuaries and monasteries and seminaries of the earth? Or, is God with you in your cubicle, your classroom, your kitchen, your conference call? What about the carpool lane? And if God is there with you, what does that mean? Join us for this series, God at Work, where we explore what it means that God is not only at work in you, but also, quite literally, with you. It may be difficult to see the Kingdom of God through the deadlines and reports and meetings and evaluations and budgets, but be encouraged: he is there. Together, let’s find him in the ordinary places you work, and let’s consider how his presence makes a difference for good.

Featured image by Kris Camealy. Used with Permission. Source via Flickr.

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