Get Out and Try Something New in Your Work

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Doing Business With God

Get Out and Try Something New in Your Work By Rick Warren — Apr 12, 2015 “Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words.”(Ecclesiastes 5:7b TLB) I know many people who talk a lot about their dream jobs. They may be 60 or 70 years old, but they’ve never done it! They say, “I’m aiming to do this.” When are you going to stop aiming and pull the trigger? You may say, “I’m waiting for my ship to come in.” It’s not coming in! You’ve got to swim out to it. Stop using all these excuses. You just need to get out and try something! Some people would like a little questionnaire where they can check off the boxes that will tell them what God wants them to do. They think that will tell them their dream job and life mission. That questionnaire doesn’t exist. There may be some that seem similar, but they don’t work completely. Why? Because you have talents you don’t even know you’ve got. The reason you don’t know you’ve got those talents is because you’ve never used them. You can take all the tests in the world, but your talent may not show up because you’ve never tried it. Before I became a pastor, I was a worship leader. I played guitar and had garage bands in high school and college. When I gave my life to Christ, I traveled and led worship at a lot of churches. I really had a heart for music and love to sing. The only problem was, nobody loved listening to me. I was what you call one of those prison singers — always behind a few bars and never with the right key. I was the perfect example of the fact that just because you desire to do something doesn’t mean you’re shaped for it. I tried leading worship, and it didn’t work. Then I got invited to speak and discovered I was pretty good at it, and others thought so, too. With the affirmation of other people, I went in that direction. Ecclesiastes 5:7 says, “Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words” (TLB). Maybe you’ve got a dream job that you’re always talking about, but you never do anything about it. Dreaming without working is foolishness. You’ve got to experiment and test until you figure out what God shaped you to do — your dream job. Then, go do it. Click here to play today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick. Talk It Over How are you using your skills and talent to reach your potential in your career? What is one job you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t? Why do you think you would enjoy it or be good at it?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opMkgyfps4c Why do you think God wants you to be content while still trying new things?

The Greatness of His Favor TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7, NKJ) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Oftentimes, people set their focus on what God has done in the past — how He parted the Red Sea or stopped the sun for Joshua or fed thousands of people with just a little boy’s small lunch. Yes, God has performed many amazing miracles throughout history, and it’s important that we give Him glory for those things. But at the same time, we also need to look for what God wants to do in our lives today! In today’s verse, Paul says that “in the ages to come” God would do things that far supersede anything He’s ever done before. I believe that the “ages to come” is this day and time we’re living in right now. God wants to outdo Himself in our generation! Today, know that God has greater levels of His favor and blessing in store for you! Dare to believe, dare to dream big, and dare to take hold of every blessing that He has in store for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. Today I look for the greatness of Your favor! Thank you for increasing me in every area of life! Use me for Your glory in Jesus’ name, Amen.