Find out how a writer finds grace, wisdom, and courage to cope with the thorns and thistles of work.

Eleanor Chan

For a period in my life, when my alarm clock rang every morning, I would feel a heart-sinking dread: another long day of new assignments, phone calls, and all-nighters. Sometimes, the meetings would go into the night.

It was not just the tedium of it all, but also the feeling that work seemed like an endless cycle that would never end. I struggled with this sense of hopelessness for a long time as I asked myself questions like:

But what else can I expect in this broken world? After all, even King Solomon found that work was grievous to him (Ecclesiastes 2:17). For someone who controlled all the resources in his nation and was regarded as the wisest man on earth, it showed that the curse of painful toil afflicts everyone (Genesis 3:17).

It was then, as I came to the end of myself, that I knew I could no longer depend on my own wiles and ways. Desperate to change the way I felt about work. I prayed:

The Holy Spirit gave me a desire to seek God: He nudged me to turn to God’s Word the first thing every morning. That’s when I discovered that reading the Bible and listening to His heartbeat before the bustle of work enabled me to start the day trusting that His “grace is sufficient” for me as His “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Without this admission, I wouldn’t have been able to experience God’s power to transform my attitude, see His presence at work, and receive His unmerited favour despite my pride.

In His grace, God gave me an awareness of why I was reluctant to go to work: the fear of man had subtly crept into my heart. My boss at the time possessed an unpredictable temperament and mood swings, and I would check into work extra early to get everything prepared just the way she liked things to be. Sometimes, in the minutes leading up to her arrival, panic would arise and my thoughts would go into overdrive as I wondered whether I had missed anything.

It was like walking into a minefield blindfolded every day. I did not know what issues would trigger my boss, who would find fault with me and criticise me endlessly. Often, I had to swallow my pride and trudge on despite my misery.

Sometimes, I would sink into my chair, feeling utterly defeated and overwhelmed. Not knowing where to begin, I would say a quick prayer and surrender my work to God: “Dear God, I know my ways are limited, but Yours are not. Grant me Your strength and wisdom to finish this work that You have given me to do.”

Wisdom appeared in more ways than one, as He generously supplied (James 1:5). God’s Word showed me that believers are not exempt from suffering under exacting bosses—even the Christians in the early church had to put up with the behaviour of their harsh masters. And God counts it commendable when we do so out of fear for Him (1 Peter 2:18–19).

Often, the Holy Spirit would comfort me with verses that I had read during the week. For example, there was Isaiah 51:12–13: “Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth.” God reminded me that in my fear of man, I had forgotten my Creator God, whom I should fear instead.

I also began to recognise how God’s grace was available to me throughout the day. This could be in the simple form of a reminder of His presence: from the little window at my workplace, I would hear birds calling to each other and look up to see blue skies peppered with fluffy white clouds. These occasional glimpses of nature always testify that as surely as our heavenly Father feeds the birds and clothes the grass of the field (Matthew 6:26–30), so will He provide for us.

These are His reminders that I can rest secure knowing that His goodness never fails, and that He will never leave us, no matter what comes our way.

But to tell the truth, sometimes, I still feel worried about my work—about deadlines, my performance, and relationships with teammates.

I can pray: “Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways, and Your thoughts higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). Help me trust that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2).”

I am constantly reminded that in this world—and especially in the workplace—we will have trouble. But we can take heart, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). My anxieties and cares will not crush me.

God redeems work so that good can come out of suffering, and we become more like Christ, till we are glorified (Romans 8:28–30).

The thorns and thistles of work will continue to prick us before Christ returns. But God can supply grace, courage, and wisdom to sustain us so that fruits of transformation will grow in us to glorify Him.