My Devotionals

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14)

Last week, we saw how Scripture refutes what we might call “The Office Story” of work, namely that work is a meaningless drudgery we must endure in order to collect a paycheck to enjoy the truly meaningful things in life.

Today, we look at the second (and I would argue most readily believed) story of work, exemplified by the hit musical, Hamilton.

If you don’t know the story of Alexander Hamilton, here’s a quick recap. Before he was recognized as a Founding Father of the United States, Hamilton was an orphaned kid in the Caribbean whose youth was marked by unimaginable tragedy. By the grace of God alone, his neighbors recognized Hamilton’s formidable talents as a young writer and raised enough money to put him on a ship bound for New York, promising the young man that, “The world’s going to know your name!”

Hamilton vows to make good...

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:1, 27-28)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Today is the final devotional in a series that I pray has helped you dispel the idea of waiting to “feel a peace” about decisions at work and at home. Over the past two weeks, we have looked at a couple of biblical truths that can help us grow in confidence as we make tough choices:

First, God rarely gives us all the information we want before making a decision.

And second, God doesn’t need us to make any specific decision.

Today, we look at the third and final truth, which is related to the second: So long as we are obeying God’s Word, we can’t make a “wrong” decision.

When we read today’s Scripture (Romans 8:28), we typically think of “all things” in the context of negative things that happen to us: losing a job, shutting down a business, losing a loved one. Of...

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)

We’re in a series debunking this idea that Christians should wait on a “sense of peace” before making big decisions, replacing that myth with three biblical truths that can grow our confidence to make tough choices. Last week, we saw the first truth, that God rarely gives us all the information we want before making a decision. Today, we look at the second: God doesn’t need us to make any specific decision.

If you’re reading these devotionals, it’s because you care deeply about doing your most exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others. That is your overriding passion at work, and that of course is a wonderful thing! But that burning desire can easily lead to over-analyzing certain decisions, which ironically holds us back from participating in the work God is up to in the world.

I know I have...

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

Last week, we debunked the myth that Christians should wait for an amorphous “sense of peace” before making big decisions.

This morning, I’m sharing the first of three biblical truths that can grow our confidence to make decisions at work and at home. Here it is: God rarely gives us all the information we want before making a decision.

That may not sound freeing, but trust me, it is. Hang with me for a minute.

Genesis 12:1 tells us that God asked Abraham to leave behind his country, people, and family and head to an undisclosed location—clearly information Abraham would have loved to have known before deciding whether or not he would obey. But as we just read in Hebrews 11:8, Abraham obeyed God despite the fact that “he did not know where he was going.” Do you think...

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

Decisions, decisions. We are faced with a never-ending list of them at work and at home.

Which candidate do I hire? Do I get my MBA or get a job? Do we move or stay?

As Christians evaluate decisions like these, there’s a phrase we often utter once we’ve made up our minds: “I just feel such a sense of peace about my decision.” Or conversely, if we’re having difficulty making a decision, we’ll say, “I just don’t feel at peace one way or another.”

But once we have that amorphous sense of peace, the discussion is over. One pastor hit the nail on the head saying, “When an internal sense of peace becomes the ultimate rationale for decision-making, no one can question you. It’s the ultimate mic drop—akin to saying God told you to do something.”

There are a few...

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. (Psalm 115:1)

After decades of working diligently toward his life’s goal, William Wilberforce witnessed the British Parliament vote to abolish the slave trade in 1807. Twenty-six years later, in 1833, Parliament would vote for full emancipation, freeing slaves throughout the British Empire. Wilberforce received the glorious news on his deathbed and went home to be with the Lord three days later.

The British people credited Wilberforce as the man chiefly responsible for the historic event, but Wilberforce was quick to deflect the glory back to God, recognizing that he was merely an instrument in the hands of his Maker.

When the nation was on the cusp of abolishing the slave trade in 1807, Wilberforce wrote, “How popular Abolition is just now! God can turn the hearts of men.” God undoubtedly used Wilberforce’s once-in-a-generation skills as an orator to...

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

When we are engaged in the work God has called us to do in the world, some level of persecution is inevitable. For William Wilberforce, who had chosen to make abolition of the powerful slave trade the “Great Object” of his life, the persecution was intense.

Wilberforce had every reason to be afraid for his life. During his decades-long fight to end slavery, multiple slave-ship captains threatened Wilberforce’s life. One even challenged him to a duel. As one of his biographers wrote, Wilberforce “seriously believed he was likely to die violently when some enemy of abolition made good on one of the several threats he had received since becoming the cause’s chiefest champion.”

Thank God Wilberforce was surrounded by other believers who encouraged him to fear God more than man. On his deathbed,...

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4–7)

Prior to Christ, the only object of Wilberforce’s work was his own glory. But upon his conversion, Wilberforce began asking questions about what God was up to in the world and how he might leverage his vocation to join in his Savior’s mission.

But where was Wilberforce to start? Britain had so many wrongs that needed to be righted: prolific prostitution, the orphan crisis, poverty, and of course the slave trade, which Wilberforce described as “that hideous traffic, so disgraceful to the British character.”

Wilberforce knew that he needed to focus intensely on one or two causes in Parliament in order to make the most...

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16)

After William Wilberforce’s conversion to Christianity at the age of 26, his “Great Change” led to immediate and practical changes in two areas of his life: how he spent his money and time.

In the words of one of his biographers, “Before ‘the Great Change,’ Wilberforce had reckoned his money and time his own, to do with as he pleased….But suddenly he knew that this could no longer be the case. The Scriptures were plain and could not be gainsaid on this most basic point: all that was his—his wealth, his talents, his time—was not really his. It all belonged to God and had been given to him to use for God’s purposes and according to God’s will.”

While Wilberforce’s relationship with money changed greatly post-conversion, the way he managed his time...