By Claire Greenwood, reprinted from the Salt & Light Australia Daily Devotional.
Stay in your lane. I heard this saying recently and wanted to unpack it a bit for us this morning. How often do you feel the need to “do more” than what we have been tasked to do? Or, we may feel the need to make comments (or if we are honest, gossip) about how someone else isn’t doing their job properly. Let’s focus on our lane. What has God given you to do in your lane? What has God given you in your hand today to use, to move forward in your lane? This could be your money, possessions, influence, talents, abilities or other gifts.
Ann Sherry, AO, (Chairman, Carnival Australia) recently shared some similar advice on her career journey, saying, “just focus on doing the job and not feeling the need to prove yourself.” I have experienced the tension of trying to grow myself in a professional sense, by seeking ways to demonstrate my skills, attitude and thoughts, while at the same time strengthening my faith to act in a way that would glorify Jesus Christ. Yet is there really such a disconnect – the Bible doesn’t seem to think so? “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Moses faced a similar tension. A commentary I read shared (from Dwight Moody) that Moses spent his first 40 years thinking he was a nobody. He spent his second 40 years learning he was a nobody, and his next 40 years discovering what God can do with a nobody. God asked Moses the same question: “Then the LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied.” (Exodus 4:2). For Moses it was his rod in his hand. We read in Exodus 4-5 that when God asked him to throw it down, it turned into a snake. Then he asked him to grab the snakes tail, and when he did it tuned back into the staff (v. 3-4). Read the verses following where you will see God’s power and miracles performed through Moses and his staff. To think it was just a staff! Along the way, Moses questioned his abilities, in verse 4:10 we see him doubting himself saying, “I am not very good with words.” I am sure you have said the same thing!! Yet, the common becomes mighty when God anoints it. The simple staff when placed in Moses hand performed the miraculous.
To close, a short but powerful verse to remember is Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” This shows us that He cares about every aspect of our lives, even the small decisions and activities we face at work every day. “Your work” is what we are employed to do, or tasked with, in the same way that God gave Moses a staff to use for his glory. Committing these to God means letting him guides us by his Holy Spirit so that “your plans” (our plans) will have a strong foundation – like the house on the rock. When we see the results, the successes, let’s view them as ones that come from God, for his Glory not our own.
As you consider your day, I encourage you to consider how this applies to you day ahead. Here are 2 questions to consider as you drink your morning coffee:
- Are you overlooking something that God has already given you?
- How can you use what you already have for God, while staying in your lane?
The Green Room 