Routed in Prayer: A Devotional for Those Starting New JobsSample

Day 12: So... what’s the plan?

Express Route

Whether you’ve got a set-in-stone five-year plan for your life, or you’re more of the spontaneous type, as we journey through our careers we will come across success and failure on a regular basis. Today, use Psalm 27 to consider God’s character – His goodness and faithfulness – and pray that you would not lose sight of it throughout the ups and downs of working life.

Scenic Route

Read: Psalm 27 

Reflect: Although you’re right at the beginning of your working life, it’s likely you have at least some idea of where you would want to be in five, ten, and twenty years’ time. What are you aiming for? What are you seeking? How are you going to get there? Perhaps you’re one of those people with a clear plan for your life. Or maybe you’re slightly more laid back, making plans only to see where the wind blows you. 

Imagine being told you can ask God for one thing and He’ll give it to you – no questions asked. What would you go for? A promotion? World peace? Riches? Wisdom? In Psalm 27, there is only one thing to ask for: a life-long dwelling place in the presence of the Lord. 

Whatever your attitude towards progress, promotions, and change, it makes sense to be just as thoughtful about our attitude towards God and the kind of life that we want to have with Him. Whatever job we find ourselves in, whatever promotion we’re aiming for, whatever redundancy we find thrust upon us, this psalm lifts our gaze to a greater thing: the goodness of God and the safety of life in His presence.

The psalm goes on to talk about God’s provision and protection – both reminding the reader of how these have been demonstrated in the past, and asking God to continue showing it in the future. This, it seems, is the way of the faithful. How do we do this as we look forward to our upcoming careers? In prayer. Through prayer, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves of God’s goodness and faithfulness in our lives in the past, and thereby build our confidence and assurance that He can – and will – remain good and faithful in the future. No matter what. 

Pray: Spend some time considering ways in which God has shown His goodness and faithfulness to you in the past. As you look forward to your future career, making plans and setting goals, pray that you would not lose sight of God’s character and presence in both your successes and failures.