Every Rung has a Purpose

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

For many of us, we’ve held many jobs over our lifetime. Not many people end their lives with the same job or occupation they started with. Looking back some of our early work experiences there are some that I’m glad weren’t what I ended up doing for the rest of my life! I believe we all have some jobs that we’re glad we’re no longer doing. Does that mean that time was wasted? I don’t believe so. All of our work and life experiences contribute to who we are now, and often times there are aspects of what we’ve learned before that helps us now either professionally or relationally.

I remember on one of my early jobs that I really didn’t care for, there was a kind lady working as the receptionist. I was able to find another job to move to and was happy to give my notice that I was leaving. On the last day she gave me a card that said “Remember, each step of the ladder is only meant to hold you long enough to get to the next step.”

Every step in our lives is important as it’s the rung that takes us to the next level. There should always be something we can look back and realize why we were there at that time, and what God had for us to learn there. No experience is worthless – it all comes together to build us into who we are.

Look at King David. When we first meet him in 1 Samuel 16 he is working out among the sheep, overlooked by his family, yet God chose him from all of his brothers to be anointed as King. I’m certain there were life lessons he learned watching sheep that helped him later in life. We also have lessons learned in our earlier occupations that are valuable.

God takes the building blocks of our lives and uses them to His glory. Never assume that to follow Him means to throw away who He has made you to be. Few things seem less spritual than keeping a bunch of smelly sheep, yet God used David’s skills for eternal purposes.

God uses all the experiences from our lives, even the seemingly inconsequential ones, to mold and shape us into who He would have us be, so that we can serve His purposes in this life.

Take time today to think about your life: How can you see that God has been working to prepare you for kingdom service?