coming from the boat besides the sporadic shuffling of feet. Deft fingers plucked seaweed from the strands of the net, the only evidence they had even gone fishing. There was no joking, the joviality that was normal seemed to have vanished in the same way the fish had done throughout the night.
Shoulders sagged from fatigue and failure. Hard work was nothing new to these men. They liked the work, the burning muscles as they pulled in heavy nets filled with fish, the smell of sweat and fish and water. But to fish the whole night and not have a single fish to show for it, that was tough. Discouragement etched their faces.
Until.
Until, a man stepped aboard their boat. The man wasn’t invited. He didn’t ask for their approval. He merely climbed in, sat down and asked them to cast off from the shore a little ways. They obeyed.
The man, his name was Jesus, began to speak, and in moments he redefined their work place. The old fishing boat became a chapel, a holy place. Dirty fishing nets became curtains for the stage on which sat the teacher, who spoke the words of life. The same voice floated from that boat that had drifted across the dark expanse of the universe before time began. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, came right into our work place and changed it … changed us forever.
That story took place two thousand years ago, but Jesus is still looking for fishing boats … and offices, classrooms, and workshops where he can come and sit. Places he can rest, bringing peace along with him. He envisions your place of employment as a spot where his words can flow freely, bringing hope to the masses, or maybe only to the few employees working away there every day.
That’s how he sees it, but how do you think about the place you work? Jesus wants it to be an imitation of heaven. Ever pictured it that way? When he taught us to pray he told us to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. His will done in your work place like it is in heaven.
It sounds wonderful, but there’s a flip side.
Satan doesn’t want Jesus in your work place. In fact, he will fight to make sure that doesn’t happen. You won’t see him, but he or his minions will be there trying to spoil heaven on earth. Your work place is a battlefield.
“Wow, you’ve been there,” someone might say.
The petty fights and gossiping that stir up trouble, that eat away at your own slice of heaven are not caused by your workmates. Warriors of evil instigate squabbles among us. The hordes from hell hope to harass the kingdom of God until your workplace has no resemblance to heaven at all.
It’s not that Satan cares if your office is peaceful. His plans are much more sinister than strife and discord. Those are just tools he uses. You see, some of your fellow workers are on a path to destruction. If your work place becomes a place where Jesus can come in, sit down and speak the words of life that may change. They may find hope, forgiveness, peace, and Satan won’t stand for that.
Guess who gets to fight them? Paul said, we do not wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. God has placed you there to fight for their freedom.
“But I don’t know how to fight Satan,” you might say. There’s good news. Psalm 144:1 says, Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. You can defeat the forces of evil in your work place and allow God’s will to be done as it is in heaven.
If we view our office or shop as a place where God wants to dwell, how might that change our job? An old preacher was contemplating this once when a woman told him she hated her job. The old preacher gave her a wizened look. “I believe Jesus has sent an angel to your place of employment.”
“Seriously?”
Nodding solemnly the preacher sent her on her way. As she entered the building the next day she greeted each person she came in contact with. She let others use the copy machine before her. When things didn’t go the way she wanted, she smiled and took a deep breath, thanking God for letting her work with an angel.
The next time the old preacher saw her, the woman was telling him about the wonderful place she worked. There may be no angels where you work, but the one who spoke the world into existence wants to sit in the cubicle with you. He wants to ride next to you in the service truck, to join you in the classroom, to sit with you at work … and quietly speak words of life. Isn’t that a place you’d want to work?
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