We all go through seasons in our careers where work seems to trend in an upward positive way, such as with promotions and raises, more helpful hands join your team, maybe even finding a sense of community among the people we work with. In these seasons, it’s easy to find our work fulfilling and enjoy our time spent. Other seasons, it’s hard to drag oneself out of bed in the morning, then “punch in” each day. Maybe it’s a season where you work so much so that you find yourself having little to no time outside of your job to do the things that bring you joy and connect with others, worst of all, maybe you find it hard to make time to truly rest.
Whatever season you are in, it is a normal experience! And if there is something God has shown through His word and in each of our lives, it is that there is a time for everything, and that our lives are not meant to be “Groundhog Day” where nothing changes. Throughout it all, He is with you, and desires for you to lean on Him, thank Him for the blessings when they do come. You are loved through it all.
Personally, things have felt hard in my career for the last year or so. I often struggle with if I am in my true calling, and it is easy to get wrapped up in the questions of where I should be, and if I am fulfilling my purpose, that I sometimes forget, no matter where in the career journey I find myself, God is still there. I find that when I make time to spend one on one with my heavenly father, He reminds me of this truth and more, so he can that put my spirit at ease when its nature is to feel restless.
Most recently, the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me through the book of Psalm. He reminded me not only that is He with me in all seasons of my life and career, but that even in the harder seasons, where the days are long, the stress is high and the sleep is little, He is there, and He is working something in me during that season. You see, because the underlying truth here for me in this moment, is that God wastes nothing. Especially time and hardship.
Many of the Psalms are either written by David or refer to time periods in his life. Before David was king, and earned his many accolades, he was a shepherd. Doing an essential skill at the time, as unglamorous as it was. And yet, this season was necessary for him to go through for him to be fully equipped for what God had waiting ahead.
“God prepared David and took this gentle shepherd-king and presented him before the people as the one who would love and care for them with integrity, a pure heart, and the anointing to lead Israel, his holy inheritance.” Psalm 78:71 TPT
I often think about David as a “rags to riches” kind of story, or one where the small boy defeated a giant; and while those are true, the word of God is living, and the Holy Spirit can reveal fresh truths in things we’ve read and heard many times before. It really felt as I wade through this tumultuous season in my career, that God was reminding me that David’s shepherd season was not wasted. I love it when the Holy Spirit drops truth and then confirms it in real time! Here is how he did just that –
According to the Amplified version (AMP) footnotes of Psalm 78, the skills David refined as a shepherd showed more than just his ability as a shepherd before his anointing. He was good at what he was doing. As an example, David would have intentionally brought out small sheep to graze before letting the larger sheep roam. In that small act, he stewarded over his flock ensuring all were well fed. I think this small act is a mirror of God’s heart toward those who might be weaker, smaller or poorer. He paid special attention to caring for them, and in the end the whole flock was cared for; not a sheep would have lacked space to graze. This is the kind of heart God saw in David and wanted to develop first before he would elevate. He needed David to be the kind of king who would never overlook others, rather, would oversee them all and care for the neediest too.
How beautiful is that!? God is so intentional in all that he does. He needed David to have been a good shepherd before he could be a good king. I’m reminded that there are things God teaches us in our careers and seasons of life, because he needs us to prepare us before we are ready for whatever his next plan is for us. And His timing is always perfect!
Whether you are in your shepherd season, or your queen season, I pray that you find time to connect with God and see where He is leading you. We don’t have to know where the end goal is, as long as we can rest in the truth that our heavenly father is with us, every step of the way. We got this work bestie!
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