Of the four men on his truck, Joe was the underachiever. He dragged his feet and was never early to work, but made his presence known by vocalizing his displeasure of departmental policies. The crew labored through each shift as his continual griping was like a claw slowly scratching its way down a blackboard.Frank was the new guy on Joe's crew, juggling the pressure of learning the ropes, making good impressions, and the struggles of his family life. The tension built exponentially causing him to make more frequent errors. When Joe asked him what his problem was, Frank finally confided with him. Softening, Joe asked, "Hey, why don't you come to church with me on Sunday?"."What?", Frank exclaimed in disbelef. "You're a christian? I never knew."Can we really find God's pleasure in what we do for a living? Can we be content in our daily grind? We can confidently say "yes" to those questions in light of God's purpose for us. He intends for us to glorify Him at the workplace in the same way as at home and at church.Everyone feels the crunch of time these days. Just as the days are fleeting, so are the many opportunities for serving God in the workplace. The secret to job contentment is not obtaining what we want (money, fame, position), but redefining what we need:We need to redefine our ambitions according to God's leadership in our life. How many times do we make plans without seeking God's counsel, have them fail, and then determine ourselves to find our own way around the obstacle hindering us? God's answer to our plans sometimes will be "no". Our ambition should be to please God in our endeavors, not just to better ourselves."Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more... For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life... Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (I Thessalonians 4: 1,7,11-12)Can you have the walls come crashing down around you and still be content? God's desire is not for our circumstances to determine our contentment, but for our faith and trust in Him. We receive encouragement from the many Biblical stories describing people persevering through tough times and remaining faithful. "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (II Corintians 12: 10) "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4: 12,13)How do we know if we are doing what He wants us to do? First of all, we must really believe in God. If we put our faith in Him, we realize He has put us in the exact location which benefis His perfect plan for this life. Just being available to His service supports this point because of the ministry opportunities that open up around us. The Holy Spirit also brings us a peace, confirming that we are at the center of God's will at this time in our lives. "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14: 26) We also need to redefine our boss. With the push for everyone to pursue independence and be their own boss, the boss we usually want is "me"; the boss we need is God. God promises to bring us contentment if we allow Him to be president of our lives. Consider leaving your office table with an empty chair at the head positon. This is God's place. He is the guiding counselor to our business decisions. We will have a lot fewer meaningless losses and failures if we consider Him as our CEO. We might try applying this in our part-time business decisions also. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3: 23,24)We need to also redefine our role. "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14: 33) What does Jesus mean "to give up everything"? In denying our "self" we acknowledge that without His creation of our own life, we wouldn't be here. We are to surrender everything about "me" to Christ so that He can be the Lord in every area of our life. Too many times we forget who gave us life and we think we own the planet. God's desire is to shift our role from owner to steward. He has a perfect plan to give according to our faith. We are to be stewards of these gifts and give glory back to Him. "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' (James 4: 13-15)In appplication, think about what you are doing. We must submit to God's authority our plans, goals, motives, minds, and bodies. There is no area we can afford to hold on to for our own dominion. The answer is to daily surrender the creation "me" to the creator God. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6: 34) He wants us to seek Him one day at a time. Our challenge is to serve God at work throughout our career. Think of heaven as being the ultimate retirement. To God be the glory.