As Christians, we are often taught that we can do “any job” to the glory of God. Which is wonderful, truthful, Biblical advice. It doesn’t matter if you’re a barista or a teacher, if you are taking up your cross daily, surrendering your sinful tendencies and praying that God’s Spirit would move through you, you are ABSOLUTELY doing the Lord’s work. And you can trust that God can and will use you as He sees fit.
HOWEVER, the opposite of this teaching is true: you can have a “God glorifying” job by title, and be making almost no impact in His Kingdom. You can be a worship leader, pastor, church planter, etc., and still miss the blessing of being utilized by God in an impactful way. The difference maker is never what you’re doing, it’s how and why you’re doing it. And most importantly: who told you to be there in the first place.
I think it’s easy to see Christian influencers with platforms that reach millions or to hear a pastor preach an incredible message that went viral and immediately categorize them as being more “used” by God than us. But, in all honesty, what does it say about us that we view people who are gaining worldly accolades, attention, and affirmation as getting “more” from God?!
We completely disregard the opposition they face, the hard work it takes, and the time that needs to be spent in the presence of God in order to faithfully serve a role like that. If we’re anticipating that a position “for the Lord” will be an opportunity to satisfy our own selfish idols of wealth, fame, comfort, or self-righteousness, we have got it WRONG my friends.
In Exodus 34, the “influencer” of the Israelites was Moses. He was the leader, the teacher, and the mouthpiece of Yahweh. However, he didn’t get to that point because he really wanted the fame that came with being the deliverer of Israel. (In fact, Moses had tried to hurry up God’s plan on his own once because he did have that hunger for fame, and that resulted in most of his people disowning him!)
The funny thing is, it wasn’t until Moses had become completely humbled before the Lord that God decided he was ready to be used as a leader. He allowed God to take Him wherever He pleased, and that’s how God knew He could trust Moses. But, Moses didn’t let his newfound leadership role affect his alone time with the LORD.
Moses spent so much time with the LORD that he literally had a glowing face. You can’t fake that kind of radiance. It can’t be imitated or forced into existence by willpower. It is only given through raw, intentional time with God. Moses knew the work he was doing for the Israelites wasn’t really his work at all, and that their trip to the Promised Land was dependent on how well he submitted and listened to the LORD, so that was all he did. God was gonna get them there, obviously. But Moses wanted the glory of God to go first, which requires a lot of humility. I wonder how many of us would accept a huge responsibility like that, if we knew we wouldn’t be the ones who got credit for it?
At the end of the day, it wasn’t Moses’ intelligence or creativity or charm that gained him his position, it was how intentionally he spent his alone time with God. He listened, he obeyed, he sought the LORD. God knew He could trust Moses very publicly, based on his God glorifying actions in private.
But Moses wasn’t the only one used by God in Exodus. In fact, I’d argue God used the Israelite people in an equally as powerful way. When Moses came from his alone time with God (glowing face and all) in Exodus 35, he had a word from God to share. God had asked Moses to call on his people to help build the tabernacle through their own unique gifts and offerings. Moses had the word, but the Israelites had everything else!
God had filled some with the spirit of being a craftsman, others were skilled workers, some knew how to etch stone and others could make royal garments. The tabernacle couldn’t be built on the leadership of Moses alone! And when Moses faithfully carried God’s word to His people, their hearts were stirred to respond. When our call to a role is coming from God, not ourselves, we can feel our soul respond to Him.
They poured out offerings that exceeded what was needed to build the tabernacle. God allowed everyone to take a special part in building his church. And that’s how God has created each of us to be an integral part of His Kingdom. When he knit us in our mother’s womb, he gave us special skills and passions that He wants us to pour out as an offering to Him. Not as a means for external affirmation and self glorification, but to glorify the One who gave everything to us.
What if the Israelites would have spent the whole time complaining that they weren’t the ones that got to lead the way? What if they were so focused on the position Moses had, that they failed to do their part, and ended up missing out on building the tabernacle altogether? Or even worse, what if one of the Israelites would have tried to imitate Moses’ role in order to gain the attention of the masses? How confusing and weird would that be?
Doing work for the Lord is literally not possible if you refuse to take time to actually listen to Him and obey first. And whatever your “work” is may never grant you a platform of faithful followers, (which honestly you should praise God for, because Moses got so annoyed with the Israelites, at one point he asked God to kill him). My biggest fight against feeling stuck, out of place, or out of purpose, is sitting at the feet of Jesus.
It is really hard to complain about anything or compare myself to anyone else when I’m next to Him. He is the One who is going to place you where He sees fit, when He sees fit. He loves you, He created you with a unique skillset that He wants you to use in His Kingdom. The thing is, it’s up to you whether or not you submit to that plan, or spend your life trying to squeeze yourself into someone else’s role.