The Power Of Presence To Fight Doubt And Worry At Work
The Power Of Presence To Fight Doubt And Worry At Work
The Power Of Presence To Fight Doubt And Worry At Work
The Power Of Presence To Fight Doubt And Worry At Work
When work is difficult because of people or circumstances, it can quickly become discouraging and can seem like there is no benefit to doing things The Way Jesus prescribes and modeled. Listen and Howard and Carter discuss how the incarnation encourages us in the midst of doubt.
Audio Transcript
In our group lessons on the incarnation at work we learned how Jesus — who came to earth on a mission to make us one with God — not only empowers our God given roles but always perfectly demonstrates the way to work.
We learned how we get to use our gifts at work, to provide goods and services to others who need them, and experience joy — especially when we work as Christ did.
But when your work is hard based on market challenges, conflict with coworkers, clients who don’t appreciate your work, or just poor execution by your organization — work can quickly become discouraging and we can begin to doubt if there really is a benefit to doing things the way Jesus prescribes and perfectly demonstrated.
It can seem like everyone else is getting ahead and we can be tempted to doubt whether we should continue following Jesus in The Way we are called to work.
What encouragement does the incarnation — the fact that Jesus came to earth — give us when we encounter hardships at work that cause us to doubt working His way?
In our sessions this week we talked about the ideal — your ideal job. Jesus gives us our ideal job, no matter what profession we are in or where we work.
Whether you are a CEO or an intern, the roles God has given you as a child of God, witness, and disciplemaker are the ideal job for you. We are supposed to do the work Jesus did in the way He did it, and as children of God, there are 7 things we have to remember as we work.
Relationships — work is about relationships, not tasks
Humility — we do not have all the answers
Service, not personal advantage — work is not about getting ahead
Fully human — we do not need to be God, embrace your finitude
Obedience — follow Jesus instead of the status quo
Sacrifice — following Jesus is going to cost you something
Glory — Christ, the hope of glory, exists within you
In the end, everyone will know The Way of Jesus was the only way because “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11). Today’s question is for people who agree that all this is true, but at times doubt because it can seem like we are losing.
You’re In Good Company
Something quite astonishing the Bible shows us in Matthew 11:1-6 is how even John the Baptist doubted. The same person who baptized Jesus, in the unique presence of the entire trinity, doubted if Jesus was The Way. In Matthew 11:3, when John is in prison awaiting his execution he asks, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
It is ok to doubt — we all do at times. And, there are many other famous doubters recorded in scripture. Peter could walk on water, until he doubted. God told Abraham and Sarah they would have a child and Sarah laughed. Then Abraham and Sarah tried to have a child in some other strange ways, and God still delivers on His promise to them. Their sin did not disqualify them from His love.
Why Do We Doubt?
The fall impacts our doubting, but blaming the devil fails to get to the root of the issue. In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard sheds light on this by outlining how human beings operate when they are obeying the Holy Spirit and when they are not obeying the Holy Spirit.
When we believe, God’s Spirit, Christ, enters us and we are made new. His Spirit speaks to our spirit, and our heart and will are changed. Our minds, thoughts, and feelings are influenced. Our body reacts to that, which in turn changes our social interactions. All of this impacts the health of our soul — our operating system. When we act in this way, we do not doubt.
However, even though the Holy Spirit is always available to us, we choose to act differently. Often, only our body, thoughts, feelings, and other people influence our will — instead of God’s Spirit. When we encounter doubt, this is how we are acting.
This is the problem. We are designed to live in such a way that we do not doubt, but we do not live this way.
A Threefold Solution
1. Jesus promises to be with us. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. If we continue living the way God wants us to, it's going to work out.
God’s been saying this for a long time. Over and over, God tells the Israelites to, “Keep this book of law on their lips and meditate on it day and night. Be careful to do what it says, then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8
This is how God defines, informs, and assures success — through His word. We must continue to go back to His word, to His promises. Some people recommend keeping a list of promises that encourage you to remind yourself in times when doubt arises.
Knowing, memorizing, and doing what God’s word says guarantees success. This is not a mini health and wealth gospel. It's a redefinition of what true success is.
2. Secondly, it is important to remember who we are and where we came from. We all have things that have happened in our lives that are unexplainable without Jesus. Sometimes God has us tell other people our testimony so that we can hear it again.
3. Live a life of presence. Surrounding yourself with other people, and especially other believers, is vitally important. Not only that, but the presence of Christ exists within you.
Richard Simmons, the founder of The Center, said this in a recent blog, “God could have given Jesus every advantage you would want in life, but instead he was born and lived in the most desolate part of the Roman Empire called Palestine. He lived a very quiet life with his parents for thirty years as a carpenter. He left almost no traces of himself on earth, and he never owned any belongings or possessions that could be enshrined in a museum. He never wrote anything. He allowed himself to be taken into custody. He was mocked, beaten, spat upon, and, then, stripped naked in front of a massive crowd. He then was taken to the cross and was crucified between two criminals for all the world to see.
And he asked God the father to forgive those who executed him and then was buried in a tomb. Yet somehow Jesus and his small following have produced the dominant faith in Western civilization. How do you explain this?”
A great place to go if you want proof of Jesus’ claims is The Case For Christ. No credible academic institution on the planet would doubt the historic existence of Jesus. Even atheist scholars of religion, such as Bart Ehrman, say there is no doubt that Jesus existed. The question isn’t whether Jesus existed, the question is why were His followers willing to be martyred for the sake of His name.
Here is how we push back doubt with the power of Jesus’ presence: “I have been crucified with Christand I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. We no longer have to live as slaves to the world. At times it can appear like the way of the world is winning, but these appearances last for a moment compared to our eternal destiny.
Links
The Incarnation At Work - Article
Diagram of being led by the Holy Spirit
Audio Transcript
In our group lessons on the incarnation at work we learned how Jesus — who came to earth on a mission to make us one with God — not only empowers our God given roles but always perfectly demonstrates the way to work.
We learned how we get to use our gifts at work, to provide goods and services to others who need them, and experience joy — especially when we work as Christ did.
But when your work is hard based on market challenges, conflict with coworkers, clients who don’t appreciate your work, or just poor execution by your organization — work can quickly become discouraging and we can begin to doubt if there really is a benefit to doing things the way Jesus prescribes and perfectly demonstrated.
It can seem like everyone else is getting ahead and we can be tempted to doubt whether we should continue following Jesus in The Way we are called to work.
What encouragement does the incarnation — the fact that Jesus came to earth — give us when we encounter hardships at work that cause us to doubt working His way?
In our sessions this week we talked about the ideal — your ideal job. Jesus gives us our ideal job, no matter what profession we are in or where we work.
Whether you are a CEO or an intern, the roles God has given you as a child of God, witness, and disciplemaker are the ideal job for you. We are supposed to do the work Jesus did in the way He did it, and as children of God, there are 7 things we have to remember as we work.
Relationships — work is about relationships, not tasks
Humility — we do not have all the answers
Service, not personal advantage — work is not about getting ahead
Fully human — we do not need to be God, embrace your finitude
Obedience — follow Jesus instead of the status quo
Sacrifice — following Jesus is going to cost you something
Glory — Christ, the hope of glory, exists within you
In the end, everyone will know The Way of Jesus was the only way because “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11). Today’s question is for people who agree that all this is true, but at times doubt because it can seem like we are losing.
You’re In Good Company
Something quite astonishing the Bible shows us in Matthew 11:1-6 is how even John the Baptist doubted. The same person who baptized Jesus, in the unique presence of the entire trinity, doubted if Jesus was The Way. In Matthew 11:3, when John is in prison awaiting his execution he asks, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
It is ok to doubt — we all do at times. And, there are many other famous doubters recorded in scripture. Peter could walk on water, until he doubted. God told Abraham and Sarah they would have a child and Sarah laughed. Then Abraham and Sarah tried to have a child in some other strange ways, and God still delivers on His promise to them. Their sin did not disqualify them from His love.
Why Do We Doubt?
The fall impacts our doubting, but blaming the devil fails to get to the root of the issue. In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard sheds light on this by outlining how human beings operate when they are obeying the Holy Spirit and when they are not obeying the Holy Spirit.
When we believe, God’s Spirit, Christ, enters us and we are made new. His Spirit speaks to our spirit, and our heart and will are changed. Our minds, thoughts, and feelings are influenced. Our body reacts to that, which in turn changes our social interactions. All of this impacts the health of our soul — our operating system. When we act in this way, we do not doubt.
However, even though the Holy Spirit is always available to us, we choose to act differently. Often, only our body, thoughts, feelings, and other people influence our will — instead of God’s Spirit. When we encounter doubt, this is how we are acting.
This is the problem. We are designed to live in such a way that we do not doubt, but we do not live this way.
A Threefold Solution
1. Jesus promises to be with us. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. If we continue living the way God wants us to, it's going to work out.
God’s been saying this for a long time. Over and over, God tells the Israelites to, “Keep this book of law on their lips and meditate on it day and night. Be careful to do what it says, then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8
This is how God defines, informs, and assures success — through His word. We must continue to go back to His word, to His promises. Some people recommend keeping a list of promises that encourage you to remind yourself in times when doubt arises.
Knowing, memorizing, and doing what God’s word says guarantees success. This is not a mini health and wealth gospel. It's a redefinition of what true success is.
2. Secondly, it is important to remember who we are and where we came from. We all have things that have happened in our lives that are unexplainable without Jesus. Sometimes God has us tell other people our testimony so that we can hear it again.
3. Live a life of presence. Surrounding yourself with other people, and especially other believers, is vitally important. Not only that, but the presence of Christ exists within you.
Richard Simmons, the founder of The Center, said this in a recent blog, “God could have given Jesus every advantage you would want in life, but instead he was born and lived in the most desolate part of the Roman Empire called Palestine. He lived a very quiet life with his parents for thirty years as a carpenter. He left almost no traces of himself on earth, and he never owned any belongings or possessions that could be enshrined in a museum. He never wrote anything. He allowed himself to be taken into custody. He was mocked, beaten, spat upon, and, then, stripped naked in front of a massive crowd. He then was taken to the cross and was crucified between two criminals for all the world to see.
And he asked God the father to forgive those who executed him and then was buried in a tomb. Yet somehow Jesus and his small following have produced the dominant faith in Western civilization. How do you explain this?”
A great place to go if you want proof of Jesus’ claims is The Case For Christ. No credible academic institution on the planet would doubt the historic existence of Jesus. Even atheist scholars of religion, such as Bart Ehrman, say there is no doubt that Jesus existed. The question isn’t whether Jesus existed, the question is why were His followers willing to be martyred for the sake of His name.
Here is how we push back doubt with the power of Jesus’ presence: “I have been crucified with Christand I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. We no longer have to live as slaves to the world. At times it can appear like the way of the world is winning, but these appearances last for a moment compared to our eternal destiny.
Links
The Incarnation At Work - Article
Diagram of being led by the Holy Spirit