Ask Fred > Career/Work > How do I find meaning and fulfillment in my job?
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Dear Fred
I was once full time online for Missionary to Muslims for five years but towards the end, I lost my passion for the mission work and felt that God was calling me for pastoral ministry moving away from it. Although I left the online mission, but went to another department of Computer related job where there is more people interaction. I have had much success in mission and ministry but I was all alone by myself without any support, encouragement or people. I realized that I need people around me to work with otherwise, I could be discouraged quickly and lose my perseverence. I have found a better job in an Oil and Gas company on computers, but I still have deep desire to share the gospel with people of God, writing books, and supporting people of God in full time ministry but I can't find guts to do it. I don't have really passion for my work computer work unless it is gospel related somehow. I can't find meaning in my current job unless I share the gospel somehow with people. I want to go for MA and Ph.D eventually but I can't find the guts to go for full time because of insufficient finance. Yet, If I choose to stay with the work, I will have less satisfaction and it would take years to finish my MA and Ph.D on part time basis while I am doing my less satisfying job. I am single at the moment out of family pressures. I would appreciate if you could share your thoughts with me.
Fred's Response
Recently well-known psychiatrist Dr. Lewis McBurrny founded a retreat to help full-time Christians. He is retired from the retreat but spends his time visiting foreign missionaries. He told me that loneliness is the number one problem. You are obviously a people person and you probably made a good decision when you changed your work. Without passion it is difficult to imagine success in mission work. I would assume from your letter that you are a person of indecision. What causes this? Is it a desire to be in imminent service or just a trait of fear of change? I found it most important in my life to have a clear focus on what I was about. Without this you will have trouble making decisions and seeing it through no matter the difficulty. What do you think a master’s or PhD degree will add to your ability to evangelize? Often our education is a respectable way of avoiding the major decision in life. Education to be practical must make a contribution to your purpose. It can also be an effort to minimize the need for faith. Faith is a vulnerable position and when friends expect only the things they can understand they are humanizing God. Take a good look at your God-given talent and your passion and line these up in a sharp focus knowing there will always be things you could have done but sense you cannot do everything be sure that what you are doing is the thing that God is blessing on. The successful life must be focused. It is like a shooting rifle compared to a shot-gun.
