Have you ever sat next to a man and during your conversation with him be so taken by what he was saying that the room seemed to be getting smaller and utterly quiet?  Have you ever wanted so badly to help someone that seemed to be crying out in silence?  I had just this happen last week.  During this conversation, I was taken by how common his plight seemed.

My friend, Bill, has been working in the same company for over fifteen years.  While he’s had advancement and seen his paycheck increase, his overall satisfaction with the company, his current challenges, and his ability to feel truly free and creative by doing his own thing (also called Self-Actualization) have been decreasing.  He explained to me that he has stayed in his job to provide for his family and do what is expected of him.  To add to the simple disappointment of not realizing his full potential at work, he was just notified that there would be more layoffs coming soon.  He wondered out loud whether or not he was going to be lucky enough to stay in this interminable slump.

I’ve had this happen in my own experiences.  In the early 1990’s, the civil engineering business was going through horrible times with respect to public works professional engineering consulting.  I worked for a company that was laying staff off employees every quarter and went from just over one hundred employees down to the mid-thirties.  During this time, I was afraid for my job and what it provided.  I began working into different departments and building additional skills so that I would be more valuable to the company with the hope that they would continue to have me on the payroll.  I had been offered other opportunities in other companies as I was building my repertoire of computer, design, and marketing skills.  I was crying out in silent desperation because I was too afraid to make a move from my comfort zone.  Today, it seems rather silly that I spent almost three years working through my own issues regarding self-worth and my ability to step out in faith to another work place.  The unfortunate part for me at the time was that, although a believer in Christ, I had taken back portions of my life from Him; in fact I may have never surrendered it to him to begin with.  Either way, I was petrified and had no place to turn.  Without Bill saying it directly, I felt like I was hearing the same story from him.

Wow, was this a universal truth?  I’m not sure, but I could certainly relate.  Now, I have never had a conversation regarding our spiritual gifts with a person that isn’t a Christian before, but the Holy Spirit put it on my heart and He opened my mouth.  I told him that God has a purpose for all our lives and that he has constructed us uniquely to do His work.  I asked him if it was possible that God made him to do something completely different than he was currently.  Following up, I asked if this were so, where might his passion lie and what might he do if he had the choice?  I was flabbergasted by his response.  He currently works in the IT field, but given the chance, would love to participate in a company that reports on or manages fantasy sports leagues.  Now that’s a paradigm shift!  I suggested that he dive into the bible and into his heart with prayer and see what God would lead him to do.  I haven’t heard back, but while I’m waiting I still wonder how many men are going through the very same thing.

When stricken by desperate times in which I need comfort to understand and confidence to know that God has a plan for us all, I flip quickly to Psalm 139, where it is written

In our search for our place in the world, I find it incredibly helpful to dig deeper and try to, as much as I can, wrap my brain around the fact that God has created us uniquely for His purpose and that there truly is a place for us within the Body of Christ.  This is stated clearly in Ephesians 2:10 where it is written ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.