Next month marks the 1 year anniversary of my journey into full time blogging as well as the anniversary of the end of my 5 year run in corporate america. I spent 5 years working at a Fortune 500 brokerage firm. I worked in three different departments and held 5 different titles over those 5 years. When I started I walked in full of ambition and expectancy that a few years down the road I would be sitting pretty in my corner office. What I walked out with was a hope and trust in God that He would get me further than my ambition did.
Lately, I have been reminiscing about my old job(s) and thanking God that phase is over. I didn’t fully realize how much I didn’t like it, until I started doing something that I really do enjoy. At the time, I knew that I wasn’t walking in my life’s calling, but that it was more of a preparation phase. As is typical, I guess, I thought the preparation phase should have only taken a year or two, but apparently God’s timeline was a little longer – 5 years! 
But also, I can now see that God was at work teaching, training, and guiding me through that challenging phase in my life. Trials and challenges are an inevitable part of life and whether we like it or not, they benefit us if we allow them to.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3
For much of that 5 year phase I didn’t like my job and there were points where I felt like I hated my job. As much as I wanted to pull a Jerry Maguire and just storm out of the office, I knew that wasn’t what God was wanting from me. I think He was testing me to see if I would remain faithful even when things weren’t very fun.
How I survived my “hate my job” phase
There were a few important lessons that I learned that I can now see were critical to my sanity!
I was thankful for what I had
I would thank God for my job on a daily basis. It wasn’t my dream-job by any means, but I was extremely grateful that I wasn’t standing in the unemployment line. I had a short stint of about 3 months when I couldn’t find a job and that is pretty terrible feeling to have. 1 Thes 5:18 says to give thanks in everything – let me tell you, it can be really difficult sometimes, but I am convinced that this was one of the primary keys that helped me stick it out.
I worked harder
When you hate your job, the tendency is to slack off and just do the bare minimum. Whether I was not good at my job or better than everyone around me, it didn’t matter – I was still called to work hard. Col 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” As I got a hold of that it really brought peace, because I knew that even if I had a tyrannical boss, if I worked hard for the Lord, things would work out for me. I didn’t have to get caught up in brown-nosing or jumping through hundreds of hoops to keep the boss in a good mood. I just needed to work hard and trust God to take care of the rest.
I prayed
This is pretty obvious, but it should still be mentioned. During that phase I often found myself meditating and praying Psalm 37. It talks a lot about waiting on the Lord and how He sustains the righteous.
I prayed that He would give me favor with my bosses and co-workers. He did. I prayed that He would give me grace to stick it out to the end. He did. I prayed that he would lead me to a job that I loved. He did.
I was active
I didn’t really know if the whole make money with a blog thing was possible, but I started a blogging anyway. Had I not been putting some action to my faith (James 2:20) by starting a blog, I would probably still be in a job that I hated somewhere. I was also actively scanning job listings, tweaking my resume, and taking classes to make myself a more valuable asset to an employer.
Final thoughts
If you are in a job you hate, I am sorry. It’s not fun at all and I know how difficult it can be, but don’t be discouraged! You are not stuck, there is a way out, and there is something better on the horizon. I don’t think I have a monopoly on things you should do when you hate your job, but, I do think doing the four things listed above is a great place to start. Pray and read Psalm 37 – you will feel better.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
This is one of the most true to reality posts I have read in a long time.
Many of us do “hate our job”. Most of us may not say we “hate our job” but if given the opportunity to do something else would jump at such a chance.
I am in this boat right now, and I too have a calling to do all the things mentioned in this post. As Bob laid out above I too have read these same verses over & over and need to meditate on them daily in order to help me behave as I should in my current job.
It would be much easier to complain and wallow in my own self-pity, but I know that I need to follow what the bible teaches if I expect to be blessed of God. I will continue to follow the advice written in the bible and recapitulated here, and will wait on the Lord to deliver me!
Congrats again to Bob for having his dream become reality, it is encouraging to see the Lord deliver a brother from bondage of unhappiness in your labors
Well done! Even though I don’t do the faith thing, I really liked the stick-to-it attitude here. For some reason, attitudes like yours are becoming a rarity in this world.
Thanks for the tips, here. This type of phase is very recognizeable! I try to remain grateful and appreciative of how far I’ve come, though, and at times I do feel the need to pray/meditate when I feel I’m totally at my limits and really need some external help. So I will continue to do all of this, and trust that it’s also a prepatory phase. I’m glad it worked out for you!
I currently work for a construction company. I, as mentioned, am very happy to have a job. That being said, I hate my job. It is very frustrating on many fronts. Besides, these days there is very little happening in the construction industry.
About two years ago I started a blog with a friend. It was finance related and we had a lot of fun with it. As time passed, our attention to the blog dwindled. A year later, I took our stale, old blog and reinstalled life into it. For a year now, I have been following my passion of teaching personal finance through the blog. It provides me a great outlet for accomplishment, despite having a subpar job.
Maybe, if I am lucky, I will have a similar story as yours. Time will tell how God will work.
Thanks for sharing your story.
I loved this post. I first heard this concept through my pastor Rob Carmen at the time. He said, “Find something you LOVE to do, & find a way to get paid for it”. Of course a sermon followed & I have forever since been trying to find what it is I “LOVE” to do. I try to say this to every person who is starting to decide a career. This concept was further ingrained in me when I hear about Rush Limbaugh’s work history & how he now loves what he does. It confirmed what my then Pastor had said…”if you love what you’re doing, you become the best at it…. and people will pay for ________________ (fill in the blank) due to it’s the best. (of course I’m paraphrasing a sermon from over 10years ago. Did you read that? I have been searching for 10 years….& remaining in a job I DON’T LOVE! Excellent honest post! It refreshes my hope & I will continue to deligently pray that God bring me the right job that I love…
I don’t know if I precisely hate my job, but its definitely not what I thought I would be doing straight out of college. I can be very thankful for employment, and to be perfectly honest there have been very few things I have been prohibited from doing in my search to add value to my contributions to the company. If anything its been hard not to get bored sometimes….thankfully God brought my BIL across my path with a few more ideas…..we’ll see what God has in mind.
I went back to college at age 35 to become a high school English teacher. I’m winding down my 2nd year of teaching now, and I admit there are many times when I hate my job. I love the kids and I like teaching, but there are many “issues” in public education that make it seem impossible to do the excellent job that the kids deserve.
I too am so thankful to have a job, but I admit that I have often fallen short of having the Godly attitude I should have there. Many days bring tears and feelings that I am at the end of my rope and cannot take it for another second. Sometimes I gripe, whine, and complain…and I shouldn’t do that.
I completely agree with what Bob said, and I know he is right. I am trusting God to bring me into a job I will love. I believe it will involve writing and encouraging other people – two things I love to do. Until then, I want to be the person God wants me to be at my job. I want to be pleasing to Him with my attitude and my words. I want to encourage others and be a Godly witness in that very dark place. I need ALL of His mercy and grace to do this. It’s not easy.
I am taking active steps to launch my first blog in June. I feel God is leading me into this, and I am praying that it will become something successful that I can make a living at while helping other people.
Two scriptures I believe God is continually reminding me of are Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 127:1. God will give me the strength to keep going (in my current job and in whatever He wants me to do) if I wait on Him, and I need to follow His plan and His timing in the process. Otherwise, I will be “laboring in vain.” I want to obey Him with pure motives – with all my heart and in all my actions. I want to be willing to do whatever He wants me to do, not to “get” something from Him but because I love Him.
Thanks for posting the wonderful article Bob!
Mel
I liked what you had to say about this. I especially feel that thankfullness and prayer are huge components to getting thru a situation like this.
God is faithful, and many times He has us going thru difficult situations to teach us more about ourselves and our need for Him and He reveals more of Himself thru these trials too.
Thanks!
JasonT
Thanks for your encouraging words.
I believe we’re to find our “vocation” rather than just pursue a “career”. I believe we were all put on the earth for a specific purpose, through which we’re to do our life’s work, our “vocation”, rather than just working for money, which is what’s usually meant by a career.
If God has a purpose for us, he will provide for us financially to fulfill it. I think Matt 6:33 sums it up:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Great Post Bob. I made sure my wife read it this morning. She had a horrible day at work yesterday which continues to compound her hatred of her current job. She would prefer to stay at home, but right now we can’t afford it. So for now she just has to take your advice, and we know that God will work everything out for us. He always has.
Great article, Bob! I loved this. You are so right – I love the section where you talk about working hard, because I definitely began to slack and it was shown in my work, my dress, and my disposition! You are right, I need to start working harder, not kissing up or playing the “games” but working hard for Christ! Off to do a great job at my job. Thanks.
Boy, do I feel like you did! I simply HATE my job. I have to transcribe dictations from foreign doctors that I cannot understand and there is the time pressure to get them done in a timely manner. Not only that, but my boss is standing over me all the time. It is extremely stressful. There aren’t many jobs out there, and I guess I should be thankful, but I have an extremely difficult time trying to be thankful when my stress limit is taxed to the max. I am a Christian and as much as I would like to do the things you say, it is not helping. Any suggestions would be appreciated! ~~ Extremely Stressed
Thanks, exactly what I needed.