(This is a transcript of two radio talks)

I am quite certain that some of you have a job you really hate. If you could, you would quit tomorrow but you feel like you're in a prison because you need this job, you’ve got time invested in it, you’re not sure you could find another one, but you hate your job. If you're having those kinds of problems, I strongly urge you to read on because the Bible has some good ideas for you.

As I travel around the country talking to people, it seems to me that more people are discontent with their jobs than ever before. Undoubtedly the economic climate has a lot to do with that, since jobs are difficult to find and many feel trapped in their jobs. Also, workloads seem to be much higher, and the loyalty between employees and employers seems much lower. So, if you find yourself in a job you really don't like, you've got company.

I can understand your feelings, because I've had a job or two like that myself. But the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:

...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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....I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:11-13).

So, I want to talk about how to be content in a job you hate. You know, when you and I learn this secret of being content, as Paul learned it, we can't lose because our fulfillment and satisfaction are not based on circumstances — not based on whether we have a terrific job that we love, or one that we hate!

Keep in mind that Paul had to learn this technique of being content, and so do you and I. So, are you willing to enroll in Contentment 101, and learn how to be content in your job? That's where it begins. If you're not willing to learn to be content, of course, you never will learn it.

If you insist on saying, "I hate this job, I refuse to change my attitude toward this job, I could never be content with this job and furthermore I don't want to be content with it," then you've already prevented God from changing you and giving you a new heart and a new attitude.

First of all, you have to give up your rights. Most of us think things like, "I don't deserve this job," or "I deserve to have a fulfilling job," or "It's not right that I have to work at a job that doesn't utilize my talents," or "I can't be expected to endure the kind of treatment I get on my job." That's just our normal selfish nature, which has been fed and fired up by our humanistic society, teaching us "We have our rights."

Dear friend, if you want to be a contented person, you must first of all tell God that you recognize you have no rights to all that you think you have a right to. If you're a child of God, you belong to Him and He is the Master. Are you willing to give up your "rights" to have the job you want, and to allow yourself to be contented where you are? That is step one in being content in a job you hate.

Maybe you're thinking, "Well, why would God punish me with a job like this?" Let me assure you that God is not trying to make your life miserable. Just the opposite — He has plans for you that are good. But He can't work those plans for you until you surrender your rights to Him. Most of the time God does not deliver us from difficult situations until we have learned to be content and to accept them. That is how we learn to trust God and have faith in Him, and without faith it's impossible to please God.

So, step one in being content in a job you hate is to give up your rights for the perfect job and tell God you are willing to stay there and give Him control.

Here's step two in being content in a job you hate: Change employers. That's right — just change employers right now, today. But, you say, "You just said be willing to stay in the job you have. Besides, jobs are hard to find; I can't just change jobs like that." Oh, I didn't say change jobs; I said change employers.

Paul wrote to the Colossians: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col. 3:23)  Did you realize you can change employers without changing jobs? Just say out loud, "I no longer work for that company or that person, I have a new boss. I now work for the Lord."

Keep that thought in your mind all day long as you're working, and keep telling yourself over and over this truth: "I report to Jesus. Therefore, I must be careful how I act and I need to watch my attitude, because I report to a higher level of management: Jesus."

I don't care how tough your job is or how much you hate it. If you work for Jesus, if you consider Him your boss, if you continually remind yourself that you will give an account to Him as to how you have performed in your job, and furthermore, that He will reward you if you do a good job, you can be content right there in that job you hate.

Believe me, I know because I've had to practice this myself. For three years, I worked in a job I hated and wanted to leave. The first year there I did everything I could to find another job, and nothing happened. Finally I realized God had me there for some purpose, and I decided to work for God, not for that company and not for that impossible boss.

As soon as I changed employers, I was content in that job. And God taught me lessons for the next two years in that job I hated which I could not have learned anywhere else. He also used me to testify to others who worked there. But nothing good happened until I changed employers.

That doesn't mean that every day on that job was a joy. No, there were still tough times and situations I had to deal with. But once I began to see that God had a purpose for me right there, going to work wasn't a painful thing any longer. I had an eternal perspective of that job, and it changed me. Once I changed my attitude and began working for the Lord, it made all the difference in the world.

Maybe the problem is you've been working for yourself. I'm not talking about being self-employed, I'm talking about working for your own selfish reasons and purely for self-advancement. When you work for yourself, you're working for money, advancement, power, recognition — and that is a self-centered, selfish way to work. You could be your own worst boss!

If you've been working for an earth-person, including yourself, you've been working for the wrong person. Make this biblical principle a reality in your life — don't work for people or money or a company, work for Jesus. I promise you, you can be content in a job you hate if you work for the right person.

Step three in being content with a job you hate is: Work for recognition and reward — but not earthly recognition and reward!

The reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. So, if you hate your job because you never get the recognition or appreciation you deserve, I've got great news for you. You can be content in that job you hate, because when you work for the Lord, Colossians 3 says that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

You see, God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if we perform our everyday work duties as unto him, we're going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether our employer ever appreciates us or not.

So, if you feel you're not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward. If you're doing a good job and nobody says "thank you," just remember that someday you'll get the "thank you" you deserve from a higher level of management. That is, of course, if you're working for Jesus and not for people.

In Matthew 6 Jesus said that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God's reward. If our whole motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then we'll hate most jobs we have because rarely is recognition or reward fairly given in this world. And working for earthly rewards will poison our motives and keep us from receiving God's heavenly rewards.

So if you're in a job you hate, you can learn to be content if you will live in the knowledge that your recognition and reward is coming from God. You can know satisfaction and fulfillment even in that miserable job, if you really believe that you work for God and He will reward you. It's a big change of attitude, but the Holy Spirit has the power to make that change inside of you if you give Him that permission.

I'm not excusing bad management, and there is a lot of that around today. Managers should do their job right and give people recognition when they deserve it. It makes it a lot easier to "keep on keepin' on" when someone shows appreciation.

However, when we become dependent on the praise and recognition of people, then we become slaves to them. I guess today's term would be "co-dependent." At any rate, we look to people for our sense of self-worth instead of to God. That is always risky business, because people will fail us often.

I want to encourage you to work for God's approval, not people's. It changes your attitude, lowers your expectations of others and reduces your disappointments; it frees you from the dependency you have for the approval of others. That is real freedom. Make this a matter of serious prayer. God can change this attitude in you if you will give Him permission.

Pray daily that you will learn to work for God's recognition and approval, not people's.

That means, of course, that you have to do good work and not slough off just because the boss doesn't seem to appreciate what you do. It should mean that the quality of your work improves. Not because God is a hard task-master, but because you want to please Him and be found a good and faithful servant. Just live in the knowledge that He has a reward for you for being a good employee, and when you get that reward, you're going to be so glad that you worked for it instead of the puny rewards of people.

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Is it hard for you to get up and go to work each day because you hate your job? Studies show that lots of people are very unhappy with their jobs. Maybe you hate the job content, or you have a difficult boss who makes the job unpleasant. It could be a coworker or the godless environment.

We’ve looked at three biblical principles to help us deal with a job we hate. Let me briefly review those:

First, we must give up our "rights" to have a job we love and give God permission to keep us in that job if He has good purposes for us there.

Second, we must change employers and start working for Jesus, not for people. And that includes working for our own selfish reasons, such as money, advancement or power.

Third, we need an eternal perspective to remember that God will reward us for work well done if we do it as unto Him. Even that hum-drum job, when done to please the Lord, will be recognized and rewarded by our heavenly Father. So, we need to work for God's rewards, not for the recognition of people.

Then, step four in being content in a job you hate is to ask God what He has to teach you through this job. Have you gone to God and said, "Lord, I'm in a job I hate and I can't get out. Why am I here? What are you trying to teach me or do through me in this job?"

You remember Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers and treated unfairly and cruelly by his captors, wrongly imprisoned for two years for doing the right thing. Then God delivered him from that prison and he became second in command to the Pharaoh.

Joseph said of his bad experience that his brothers meant harm to him when they sold him into slavery, but God meant it for good. Joseph allowed God to turn a terrible experience into a blessing. But please note that God was able to turn it into a blessing because Joseph was willing to let Him.

God may have you in that job you hate because He has a blessing there for you, but because of your attitude, He can't work that blessing for you yet. If Joseph had gotten bitter or remained angry or been rebellious, he would not have been able to interpret the Pharaoh's dream and he would have just rotted in that prison.

As I related previously, I spent three years in a miserable job at one point, and for the first year I rebelled and complained and felt sorry for myself. With that attitude, God couldn't do anything for me. When I finally realized that God had me there for a purpose and I wasn't going to get out of it until I learned those lessons, many good things started to happen.

First, the difficult job became much easier to handle when I abandoned my self-focused attitude and asked God to work His purpose for me in that job I hated. Going to work wasn't nearly as difficult after that.

Then, God began to use me in the lives of some of my coworkers, and I was able to be a witness for the Lord there, even to that difficult boss. And I gained some business experience which eventually became very important to my ability to go out on my own and become self-employed. And that allowed me to start this radio ministry over twenty years ago. So, God had great purposes for me in that job which I couldn't even imagine at the time, but now I can see how He was working good for me right in that job I hated.

Are you rotting in your miserable job because you haven't given God permission to use it in your life for good? Believe me, there are miracles waiting for you in that job you hate, if you will in humility make up your mind to work for God and seek His reward, and look for the good that God wants to do for you and through you right where you are.

You'll know contentment even in a miserable job if you have that attitude in you. It's the attitude that Jesus had when He was willing to leave heaven and come to earth to die for us. Surely it was a job He didn't relish, but He knew God would work redemption through it, and so He submitted to the good that God wanted to do by sending Him to a job He did not enjoy.

Let this same mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, Paul wrote, and if you have His mind, you will be content wherever you are, even in a job you hate, as long as God has you there for His purposes.

Notice I didn't say "with" a job you hate, but "in" a job you hate. There's a difference in being content "in" any situation versus content "with" any situation. Certainly, there are some situations which are unfair, discriminatory, ungodly and just plain wrong. God doesn't ask us to be content "with" those things which are wrong, and indeed He may direct us to confront or leave that kind of situation.

I believe there are times when we should actively pursue another job or another career, when the right thing to do is find a place to work which uses our abilities better, or get more education so we can advance to better jobs, or simply find a better working environment.

Furthermore, it's important for us to understand how God has gifted us, where our talents are and try to find a job that utilizes our abilities best. We know that God gives each of us different gifts and abilities. When we are in a job that uses those gifts, we are most content because that is the way God created us, and He wants us to use and develop our God-given gifts.

Have you ever had any counseling or analysis of the kind of job best suited for you? I have a dear friend who spent several years in a good job, with a good salary, but she hated every minute on the job. She thought it was her problem until she realized she was a people person in a job that was isolated, working with computers and numbers, not people. No wonder she was miserable.

When she finally saw this, she left that job and took another one that paid less but put her in touch with people. Immediately her attitude toward her job changed; she loved to go to work; she did an excellent job because she is so good with people; and her management was thrilled with her performance. Therefore, they gave her very positive feedback, which she had never received on the other job. Her whole situation improved immensely once she found a job that suited her personality and gifts.

Now, she had to take a pay cut at first, so if you're working for money or power, it could keep you from finding the right job for yourself. Lots of people stay in jobs they hate simply because they're afraid to give up the money or the benefits or the security of that job. What a miserable way to live. Maybe you need to trust God and take a step of faith and get out of that job which does not fit your talents or gifts. We are most content when we're using the gifts God has given us.

But if you're in a job you hate, however long you are going to be in that job, as a Christian, you should learn to be content in that job. The Apostle Paul said he learned to be content in any circumstance, and he was in some very bad situations. If he can learn contentment, so can we.

Let me tell you the story of a woman in Wisconsin who found herself in a job she hated. It was a manufacturing job, with repetitive and boring duties. She graduated from college with very good grades, but found herself in this job that was beneath her.

Finally, after hearing my message on The Freedom of a Captive Mind, she decided to change her attitude about that job and to think of it as her mission field. She began reprogramming her mind with Scripture, memorizing verses on the job, and singing songs of praise in that factory job.

Her coworkers noticed the change in her. They began to ask her to sing her songs, and many times she was able to share the Scripture she was memorizing in conversations with different individuals. She started praying for her coworkers, and they began to come to her with their needs and ask her to pray for them.

She was able to lead one of her coworkers to know Jesus as her Savior, and has touched the lives of all who work with her. Last I knew, she was still in that job that she hated, but it became her mission field. Yes, the work is boring, but it gives her time to memorize Scripture while working and that has been a wonderful healing process in her own life. She has found contentment in a job she hated because she has seen it through the eyes of eternity, and asked God to use her there. He is.

Maybe God wants you to stay in that job, even though it's not a good fit for you, because He has something far more important for you to do there. This woman is finding her satisfaction and contentment not in her job duties, but in seeing how God is using her in that difficult place.

Joseph and Daniel are two biblical examples of men who were in jobs they did not choose, but they were used mightily of God in those positions. God had a greater plan for them than just having a fulfilling job.

Don't lose sight of the eternal importance of allowing God to use you as His witness on your job. If you can see how your presence in that company is being used of God, rejoice in that wonderful knowledge that you are fulfilling God's mission for you in that place.

What are you doing on your job mission field? Griping and complaining all the time because you hate the job? What kind of testimony is that? Often we miss some wonderful opportunities to shine for Jesus because we're so consumed with self-pity over being in a job we hate.

Friends, in this world there will always be unfair and unpleasant situations for us to endure. It's a sin-filled world and we can't expect a lot from it. But if every Christian in the marketplace saw his or her job as a mission field, we could impact our world for Jesus in ways never imagined.

I challenge you to ask God to change your attitude and make you content right where you are, so that you are a light shining in darkness in that corner of the world. If you don't shine where you are, your opportunity will be lost forever.

Mary Whelchel is founder and president of The Christian Working Woman.  This set of two talks was broadcast on October 30 and November 6, 2004.        © christianworkingwoman.org       Used with permission.      Content distributed by WorkLife.org > Used for non-profit teaching purposes only.