The Hands of God Are in Your Lap
Blog / Produced by The High Calling![Default image](https://www.theologyofwork.org/assets/images/thc/_bodyHeader190x180/xdefault_image.png.pagespeed.ic.asmpOn9NC4.png)
For much of my life, I thought saints and mystics were the only people really concerned about spiritual matters. I thought their monastic life was necessary for the in-flooding of God’s Spirit. As I got older, I discovered that the Presence of God is not limited to times of meditation and prayer. Sometimes, we are grasped by God’s Spirit, even though we may not be involved in any Sunday church activities or other traditional forms of spiritual discipline.
Can God’s Spirit be present and active in our non-Sunday workaday worlds? The answer is yes.
Our work is a part of God’s plan for our lives. It is part of God’s ongoing creation. We can find satisfaction and fulfillment in following our inner voice. But many people are just grinding it out and collecting a paycheck to put food on the table. We need to recapture the notion of vocation. The most satisfied workers in the world already have. They know Monday through Friday are just as holy and sacred as Sunday.
Most of us will never be ordained or go to a seminary. In fact, most of us only spend one hour a week at “the church gathered.” That means we spend over 98 % of our time living in the world or “the church scattered.” It is easy to find God in quiet retreats. But we must learn to find Him in the midst of our hectic schedules, nano-second technologies, and noisy streets. Otherwise we will always define a devout life as one that retreats from the world, and lives as a monk.
When we are true to our calling, we will see our desks, check-out stands, counters, and drain-boards as altars of service in our work and in our relationships with others. We will find God’s Presence in all work, not just church work. As we nurture our Spiritual life, we will learn to see our work as a vocational and spiritual call. God gets His work done in the world through you and me.
If you want to see the hands of God, look in your lap.
Can God’s Spirit be present and active in our non-Sunday workaday worlds? The answer is yes.
Our work is a part of God’s plan for our lives. It is part of God’s ongoing creation. We can find satisfaction and fulfillment in following our inner voice. But many people are just grinding it out and collecting a paycheck to put food on the table. We need to recapture the notion of vocation. The most satisfied workers in the world already have. They know Monday through Friday are just as holy and sacred as Sunday.
Most of us will never be ordained or go to a seminary. In fact, most of us only spend one hour a week at “the church gathered.” That means we spend over 98 % of our time living in the world or “the church scattered.” It is easy to find God in quiet retreats. But we must learn to find Him in the midst of our hectic schedules, nano-second technologies, and noisy streets. Otherwise we will always define a devout life as one that retreats from the world, and lives as a monk.
When we are true to our calling, we will see our desks, check-out stands, counters, and drain-boards as altars of service in our work and in our relationships with others. We will find God’s Presence in all work, not just church work. As we nurture our Spiritual life, we will learn to see our work as a vocational and spiritual call. God gets His work done in the world through you and me.
If you want to see the hands of God, look in your lap.