Your Work Matters To GodSample

A BUSINESS PROBLEM LEADS TO A CALL

The people of Israel wanted a king. God finally agreed. Samuel was the prophet of Israel who was to anoint the man God had chosen. God selected a young man to be the first king of Israel—his name was Saul. It is interesting to look at the circumstances in which God called Saul into his new vocation. It seems that Saul’s father had a business that used donkeys. During those times, donkeys were often used for commerce. It was obviously important to Saul’s father to find the lost donkeys, so he sent Saul and his servant out to find them.

They went from region to region, unable to find the donkeys. Finally, Saul told his servant that they should go back. He thought that his father would be worried. But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true.Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” 1 Samuel 9:6

Saul took his advice. Near the town they met some young girls who told them that Samuel had just come to their town that day. When they arrived, they met Samuel who told them that the donkeys were safe and he would also tell Saul the next morning all that was in his heart. He then informed Saul of his new calling to be the next king of Israel. God brought a workplace problem into Saul’s life so that he would discover God’s call in his life.

Workplace Application

One time I was a speaker at a Christian business conference in Singapore. The night before I was to speak, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to modify my presentation to include the passage below and its application to men and women in the workplace. The following morning my wife and I had breakfast with Maggie, one of the intercessors for the conference. She had prepared for the conference by fasting and praying forty days for this event. I asked Maggie, “Has the Lord spoken to you about this conference as you have been praying for it?” She smiled and said excitedly, “Oh, yes! The Lord said the business people of Singapore were to give their ‘donkeys’ (businesses) to the Lord.” That day was the day men and women in the Singapore business community stepped forward and gave their “donkeys” to the Lord.

Have you given your work to the Lord?