The Glory in the Grind

Nick R. Ferran

Description

It is not the perfect job, employer, or city that will give you meaning and fulfillment in life. It’s learning to walk with Christ.
If you’re like most people, you’ve spent a lot of time seeking to find your calling or purpose in your career. You probably also find yourself unfulfilled.
Often, work is simply not the dream we thought it would be, which often leads us to give up promising careers only to embark on something new and discover the same issues.
The Glory in the Grind is a thirty-day devotional designed to help you connect with Christ by seeing Him in the daily, mundane grind of going to work, which makes the ordinary extraordinary.
The book of Colossians highlights how all things are made through Christ and for Christ and that all things are held together by Him. His presence is everywhere and His divine nature is so embedded into the fabric of the universe that with the eyes of faith, you can see Him in common ordinary jobs like janitors and bankers.
At the end of the day, it is not the perfect job, employer, or city that will give you meaning and fulfillment in life. It’s learning to walk with Christ daily in whatever work you do.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664296879
• Langue: English

Extrait

The GLORY in the GRIND
 
A thirty-day devotional to help you grow closer to Christ by helping you see His glory in all work and to find the joy and contentment that only comes from Him and enables you to handle any job situation
 
 
 
NICK R. FERRAN
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2023 Nick R. Ferran.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9686-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9688-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9687-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023906287
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 05/15/2023
 
 
Philippians 4:11–13 ESV: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5 ESV: “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”
CONTENTS

The Architect
The Author
The Babysitter
The Baker
The Banker
The Barista
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
The Comedian
The Doctor
The Engineer
The Entrepreneur
The Financial Analyst
The Firefighter
The Gardener
The Investor
The Journalist
The Lawyer
The Marketing Executive
The Mechanic
The Musician
The Nurse
The Painter
The Pharmacist
The Photographer
The Real Estate Developer
The Security Guard
The Soldier
The Surgeon
The Teacher
The Understudy

THE ARCHITECT

WHAT DO ARCHITECT S DO?
Architects are the designers and sculptors of buildings, designing them as works of art to be displayed and admired by a city’s inhabitants.
HOW DO ARCHITECTS GLORIFY THE LORD BY REFLECTING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LORD?
The Lord is the ultimate architect, creating a world and universe full of beauty that puts His glory on display.
The Lord is also sculpting each person who follows Him into a unique work of art.
Just as architecture has great variety, no two humans display the glory and beauty of the Lord in the same way. Each person is different, and the Lord reveals Himself in each person differently.
The Lord is designing New Jerusalem, the ultimate city to be revealed at the end of time, to be a place of great beauty materially and spiritually that displays the Lord’s glory, with Him as the ultimate source of its beauty.
SCRIPTURE
Revelation 21:10–11 ESV: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”
ALSO REFERENCE
Psalm 8:1–4
Psalm 136:7–9
Revelation 21:18–21
Revelation 21:22–27
Psalm 139:13–15
HOW DO ARCHITECTS GLORIFY THE LORD BY SERVING THE PE OPLE?
Architects are key to creating buildings appealing for a city’s residents to look at.
The buildings architects design are sources of inspiration, invoking imagination and creativity in the viewer.
Architects are key to making cities thrive, and therefore, nations thrive by creating buildings and cities attractive to live in.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE DIDN’T HAVE ARCHIT ECTS?
If buildings could be built without architects, they would be unappealing to look at.
Buildings would be dull and commoditized.
Instead of inspiring people, buildings and cities would cause people to be depressed.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What is the most beautiful building you have seen? Did it inspire you in some way?
If you are an architect, do you see the importance of your work in causing cities and nations to thrive?
If you are a Christ follower, are you allowing the Lord to shape you into a unique work of art? How are you displaying the unique beauty of the Lord in your life?

THE AUTHOR

WHAT DO AUTHOR S DO?
Authors use their creative imaginations to invent places, characters, and stories and translate those into compelling, resonating writing for people to enjoy.
HOW DO AUTHORS GLORIFY THE LORD BY REFLECTING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LORD?
Jesus is the inventor and author of all life.
Your life and my life are gifts from Him. Because He is the author of all life, it is for His glory that we all exist, whether we acknowledge Him or not. He is the meaning of life. And in His glory is our greatest joy.
He is the author of all history, with all its compelling places, events, and people, and all history is for His glory.
He also has the authority to remove life. He will eventually remove all evil from the earth by simply uttering the words.
At the mere utterance of the Lord’s voice, the earth would melt. That means we can trust in Him, especially when society isn’t stable.
Most, if not all, great stories that have touched culture in some way find their inspiration from the story of Christ.
SCRIPTURE
John 1:1–5 ESV: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
ALSO REFERENCE
Romans 11:33–36
Colossians 1:15–20
Revelation 19:12–16
Revelation 19:21
Psalm 46:6–7
HOW DO AUTHORS GLORIFY THE LORD BY SERVING THE PE OPLE?
By crafting creative, meaningful stories, places, and characters, authors speak and help us get in touch with the deeper longings and hopes of the human soul.
Great stories can help us feel more connected to one another, even across cultural and societal boundaries.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE DID NOT HAVE AUT HORS?
Without authors in every culture, there would not be any great literature that speaks to those cultures.
Imagine the world without J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, or C. S. Lewis. Their stories have brought a greater sense of wonder into the normal world.
Without authors, with their great imaginations and their unique talent for translating those imaginative stories and places into compelling language, the world would be starved of the wonder and beauty of those things.
Without authors, the world would be a much more utilitarian place, with less of the intangible things like hope, love, and inspiration that good stories bring to society.
Many of the places and objects authors imagine become the inspiration of the engineers, inventors, and architects of the future. Jules Verne dreamed up and popularized the idea of the submarine almost a hundred years before it became a reality. Who knows what may yet to be created because of George Lucas’s imagination in Star Wars ?
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If you are an author or are otherwise engaged in the craft of writing, do you see the tremendous value of your role in injecting meaning, hope, and inspiration into an otherwise dark and utilitarian world?
If you are a follower of Christ, do you trust all of your life to Christ—not just eternal life but the day-to-day life of the here and now? What fruit have you experienced on days you are trusting and abiding in Christ more deeply?
If you are not a Christ follower, how has trying to write the narrative of your life on your own panned out? Have you considered that surrendering your life to the Author of life, Jesus Christ, would make your life more meaningful, hopeful, and abundant and that you can find rest and peace in trusting Him to write a greater story in t