day 386: Today's Troubles

Let's face it, every day at work is full of troubles. Always has been, always will be. Let's remember that work was not given to us originally as something fun to do. Adam got the first job assignment and since then we have all had to toil for our food. We also know that work is not a bad thing as much of our potential as human beings is fulfilled in the work we do. That said, we also know that we are not to make work into the definition of who we are or become so all encompassing that we lose perspective as to what is important in our lives. God gave us all the same purpose, to bring glory to Him in all that we do. If we keep that as our centering force then how we work becomes what it most important. That is why it is important that we manage well the troubles that we face at work. If we are not the people who can take the troubles as they come without overly worrying or over reacting, then we fall into the trap of allowing our troubles to pull us down and pull others down at the same time. In Matthew 6:34 we are told not to worry about tomorrow since day already has enough troubles: "So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." If we can focus on one day at a time with our minds and hearts always allowing God to be there with us through big, small, thick and thin, then no troubles will be enough to knock us off of our purpose. It is only when we forget to bring God to work with us or we purposefully leave Him at home or in the car, that the troubles in front of us today and tomorrow will become overbearing and seem too much. Let's not let ourselves slip into that trap today.

Reference: Matthew 6:34 (New Living Testament)

day 345: Sure Fire Trouble

Every company and organization has their own set of cultural norms, values and principles. After many years of being a student of human behavior at work, I would say that one of the signs of sure fire trouble is someone who is arrogant. I was reflecting on this the other day when I saw that they are bringing back the remake of the movie "Wall Street". Apparently, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) returns after 20 years in jail. He comes back, or so it is advertised, as repentant and reformed. Even in the "Bonfire of the Vanities" days on Wall Street (that was 1980 or the early 2000's?) even there it was arrogance to believe that one is above the law, that ultimately brought down many people. But even among the youngest and most junior in their careers, arrogance can create such a feeling of animosity among peers and co-workers that a person's career can be damaged even before it hardly starts. It is a fine line between confidence, which we all need to survive in the workplace, and arrogance. I strongly believe that the difference is many times found in someone's ability or inability to listen, be self-aware and take open feedback from others. The minute one stops listening to others, it means that arrogance has taken over. Even David talked about arrogance in Psalm 31:23; "Love the Lord, all you faithful ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes all who are arrogant." Yes, there is sure fire trouble coming if we become arrogant. Today would be a good day to consider what parts of our lives have we allowed an over-confidence to turn into an arrogance that needs to be metered and removed? Do we have areas where we have stopped listening to others and as such, may have lost perspective about ourselves? One of the best ways to know this is to reach out to the one who loves us the most and begin to go to Him with the request to open up our eyes and ears to others so that we can see and hear what we we need to know. The best way to keep from trouble is to remove the sure fire signs of trouble that are there, but we just keep missing!

Reference: Psalm 31:23 (New Living Testament)

day 145: Troubling Hearts

It's confusing sometimes with the work we do. We claim that none of this is so important that we are going to let it get to us but then we end up taking our work home with us figuratively (and many times literally) and either dumping our emotions out on those around us at home or holding it inside of us so tightly that our mood and actions are affected. This is when those around us feel like we are really taking it out on them. Either way, we allow our work to get so deep within us that we allow it to affect who we are. I remember once a work situation that was so troubling that I literally felt a physical weight on my shoulders to the point that I couldn't even make it go away while I was out running (my usual stress release). That day I had to pull up and walk because I just couldn't get rid of the stress and the troubling feeling. I suspect that I am not alone. It could be the hard decision to be made, changes that need to be executed, difficult conversations to be had or just a pile of work that needs to be done sooner than you think it can be completed. However it comes it adds up quickly and before long it can feel like it is overtaking you. Jesus talks about removing the troubles of our hearts and giving them over to Him. We see this in John 14:1; "Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me." It seems so trivial to bring our work issues and problems to God when there are so many other things that are bigger, farther reaching, and more about the hurts and pain of other people. But that is not what Jesus says. He doesn't say bring everything to me other than your work problems. We can feel comfortable in that God wants us to bring glory to Him in how we work and if we are troubled then we are losing out on the promise that has been given to us if we will only trust in Him. It is when we are giving it all over to Him that we are in the spirit and closest to working our purpose. Give it a try today.

Reference: John 14:1 (New Living Testament)

day 107: Weekend Work

Ever notice how your briefcase is more full on Friday afternoon than any other day of the week? It's because we all do it; we take home our "weekend work" with us and vow on Friday to set aside some time over the weekend to "catch up" and/or "clean out". And then somewhere along the way in the weekend amidst seeing friends, being with family, going out, going to church, watching TV, etc. the work gets relegated and pushed back to Sunday night. I am notorious for doing this. I bring home my briefcase stuffed with the "extra" things I am going to get done and then never get to most of it so it gets lugged back into the office on Monday morning. Email even makes it worse as all of the catch up messages are sitting there staring at me all weekend long. I also notice a change in my demeanor as the weekend time gets closer and closer to weekend work time. I feel myself begin to slip back into a higher stress mode and I know my mood changes outwardly as I tune out everything else around me. Even though I ask for permission from my wife to do so, I still end up feeling bad that I am taking away weekend time from her to complete work stuff. I admire those who never bring home their work, but I am pretty sure that I am not alone when I say that I never have found another way. The weekend work and the burden that comes with it can become automatic to us. I often wonder if we don't just put more and more burdens and troubles on ourselves because we are just built to do so. Achievers just like to take on more. And the more we take on the more burdensome it feels. It may well be that we are taking our troubles and burdens to the wrong place. In Psalm 120:1 we read: "I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer." This is where we should be taking our troubles and burdens. What if we were to say that our weekend work was to spend more time in prayer, asking God to take our troubles and burdens and allow Him to work through them? That is what He wants to do and that is what He wants us to do. Don't get me wrong, God is not going to clean out the email inbox for us, but He can give us the strength, the positive attitude, the peace, and the discernment to figure out how to be more efficient and productive. This weekend instead of doing as we always do, let's try bringing the troubles to God first and do some crying out and then let Him do his marvelous and wonderful works. Start there first and then begin feeling the load lighten! Have a great weekend!

Reference: Psalm 120:1 (New Living Testament)

day 73: The Friday Troubles

I always start a Friday with some circumspection. I’m in a good mood because it is the end of the week, but I always watch out for what I call the “Friday Troubles”. It seems like Fridays are a good day for everyone to unload whatever they want on everyone else and try and get the monkey off their backs. I once had a lawyer tell me that it is an unwritten thing in the legal world that when an attorney wants to be nasty they serve their lawsuits on Friday afternoons to just ruin the other party’s weekend. My phenomenon was that on Friday afternoons around 3pm I could expect some form of “trouble”. It might be someone that was not happy and wanted to leave that on my doorstep for the weekend or that someone had something urgent that needed to be delivered by Monday morning. Sometimes big things, sometimes small, but troubling all the same. Over the years I learned how to deal with those troubles (and the troubles throughout all of the week) but it was not until the last few years that I could look at those troubles as good things that were there to make me better. And even that sounds a little too Polly Ann-ish when those troubles really are troubling. But you see that is how God wants us to approach our troubles. He wants us to recognize them for what they are (don’t deny unrealistically) and then to stare them down as challenges that will pass and make us stronger. We are to do that with a positive attitude. We are taught this in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!” Paul was talking about different kinds of troubles but troubles are troubles in the eyes of God if we hand them over to Him. We all have our different ones, but if we hand them over to Him then we can know that our dealing with them will pass but in how we deal with them comes the lessons, the learning, the growth and ultimately the glory. In today’s business environment there is plenty of trouble to go around. On this Friday don’t miss the opportunity to let your troubles know that you know that they are not here forever and that you are going to make glory from them. You might be really surprised just how less troubling they are now than they were before.


Reference: 2 Corinthians 4:17 (New Living Testament)

day 49: Perspective of Troubles

Work is full of troubles that can get us down. We look at these challenges as really big ones because we have to deal with them for so many hours a day, so many days a week, and with financial security, career reputations and emotional impact all weighing in the balance. We see these troubles as serious weights around our necks and no matter how we want to lighten them up, they are real and must be managed and dealt with. So, if they are there and sometimes only time can work them through, then the best thing we can do it turn them over to God and ask Him to help us put them in perspective. My church, during this holiday season, has been offering a daily morning worship and devotional time to ready people for Christmas in a much more intentional way than just what can be offered on Sundays. I attended the session this morning and walked away with a new appreciation of the perspective we should be putting against all of our troubles. Imagine the troubles that Mary, the Mother of God, must have felt in the months leading up to the birth of Christ. An unmarried woman, carrying a child that was not that of her fiancee, managing the stigma socially but also the pressures and stresses of what was happening to her. Yes, even with these troubles, beyond anything imaginable, Mary in Luke 1:46-49 proclaims the greatness of the Lord and puts all of her troubles aside to recognize the marvelous and miraculous thing that was about to happen. If today or tomorrow, we think we have it rough, it would be the right time to put things in the perspective of Mary and look to see if there is not something wonderful that God wants to do with you that will emanate from the overcoming of your challenges and troubles.

Reference: Luke 1:46-49 (New Living Testament)