Who Controls Your Career?
By Rick Warren

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, then give Jesus complete control of your life, including your career.

An example of this is when Simon Peter let Jesus get into his boat so he could teach some people standing on the shore. The Bible says, “When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon [Peter], ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (Luke 5:4-5 NIV).

Then the Bible says, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6-7 NIV).

If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, you’ve got to get Jesus in your boat. 

What’s your boat? It’s how you make a living. Simon’s business was his boat because he was a fisherman. The boat represents your career, your profession, your job, just like it represented Simon Peter’s entire livelihood.

What does it mean to have Jesus in your boat?

It means you dedicate your career to God. I’m not talking about salvation here. You may have Jesus in your life, but have you given him control of your career? 

You’ve trusted him for salvation and serve faithfully in your church. But when you go back to work during the week, is Jesus who you trust in your job? Or do you put Jesus on the shelf?

When Simon Peter gave his job to Jesus, he was blessed with incredible results. But don’t miss the sequence. We sometimes think, “God, make me really successful in business, and then I’ll serve you with the success.” Wrong! It’s the exact opposite. Peter first gave Jesus control of his job. Then Jesus blessed Peter’s job with enormous success. That’s the order.

The Bible says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT). 

When you want God to bless something, put him first in that area. You want God to bless your time? You give him the first part of every day. You want God to bless your money? You give him the first 10 percent of your income, no matter how small it is. You want God to bless your job? Give him control, no matter how successful you are.

Get Jesus in your boat, and you’ll see your life turn from empty to overflowing.

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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