Good News for a Bad Day at Work

I suspect you've had a couple of really bad days at work...the kind that made you wonder why you even got out of bed that morning. Perhaps it's the loss of a sales opportunity you've been working on or the demise of a critical project. On other occasions, bad days may arise from conflicts with coworkers, bosses and clients. Needless to say, after more than 17 years of toil in the technology arena, I've had my share of "bad days".

How are we to respond in the face of these adversities at work? Does God have a purpose in all of this? Is there good news for a bad day at the office?

If you find yourself in such a situation, here are a few ways, I believe we can view our circumstances and respond biblically -

First, preach the gospel to yourself relentlessly. Many Christians, including myself, may unwittingly treat our work life in the "marketplace" as a gospel free zone. Sure, the gospel may be applicable on in church or even at home...but at work? Yet, these are the very moments that the gospel is most applicable. We need to be reminded that no matter how pressing the problems may be at work, they cannot compare to our greatest problem - the problem of our sin... and for that predicament, God has provided a remedy at great cost to Himself. We need to infuse our hearts with gospel centered scriptures that lead us to meditation. Passages like 1 Peter 3:18, 2nd Cor 5:21 are dripping with gospel truth

Second, I find that adversity is often a way that God reveals His eternal worth to us. It is not the encountering of trials that lead to maturity but how we encounter those trials. Trials are designed to remind us of the temporal nature of this life and the eternal worth of knowing Christ. On a recent bad day, I found myself fraught with anxiety yet I sensed the Holy Spirit reminding me of 2 Cor 4:17-18

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

I was also encouraged to desire God and hope in Him from Psalm 73:25 where David writes

"Whom have I in heaven but you. There is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My heart and my flesh may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Good news indeed!