Called to This City, Not the One I Wanted
Devotional week 32
"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4–7 (NIV)
Have you ever wondered what you’re doing in your current job, or why you accepted to work in a place like this?
For twenty years, I worked for a multinational insurance company. During that time, I served in different departments and experienced both good and difficult seasons. In the last department where I worked, I had a wonderful team but not such a great manager. After three years, I couldn’t take it anymore and accepted an offer to work for another company.
Imagine my surprise when I told my coworkers that I was leaving. Several of them began to cry, and the phrase I heard most often was, “Who is going to bring peace to our workplace now that you’re leaving?”
Bringing peace to the city was part of the mission God gave His people while they were living in exile. He clearly instructed them to accept their situation, live normal lives, marry, have children, build houses, grow food, and flourish in every area of life. As they did, those around them would recognize that they belonged to the Lord, the one true God.
You have been called to live out your gifts and talents within the context of everyday life. Make a difference in your city and in every environment where God has placed you—whether in your neighborhood or in your workplace. Be the person who brings peace to the city, just as God’s people did.
Challenge
Don’t wait for a better environment to start living this out. Step into your current workplace, your current city, and your current season with intention. Ask yourself each day, “How can I bring peace here today?” and then act on it—faithfully, consistently, and courageously.
Prayer
Lord, help me to be an agent of Your peace wherever You have placed me. May my life lead more people to recognize that You alone are Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Devotional by Gustavo Borges. As Director of Tent Brazil and Tent USA, he is passionate about helping Christians connect faith and work. He equips professionals, entrepreneurs and students to see their workplaces, careers and everyday relationships as opportunities to serve others and participate in God’s mission.