A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

What a blessing it is that our work world is filled with gifted architects, physicians, plumbers, teachers, governors, scientists and farmers, to name just a few.

God created us with a diversity of gifts so we could offer a diversity of blessings.  When we submit to God’s call on our work, we can begin harnessing God’s gifts for our work.

It’s just like in Exodus 31:1-5, when God…

When God’s direction lines up with our expectations, things seem to us as they should.  But what happens when God’s direction is not what we expected?

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

What happens when God seems to be turning our work world upside down?

This is a good time to consider if our expectations have too much to do with the world, and too little to do with God.

Our work world…

The Spirit Speaks

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

It’s the Holy Spirit that often knocks on our hearts and heads, helping us to understand God’s will for our lives, inside and outside of work.

What an underutilized resource is the Holy Spirit!  We Christians are often more influenced by the call of our culture than the call of our God.

First Corinthians 2:12 reminds us that . . . “We…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

I’ve had times at work when it seemed like I was using my talents for nothing.  I’d put out my best effort, but few results seemed to come back.  It was discouraging, and I’d wonder if something was out of sorts with me.

How comforting it was to read this scripture from the famous prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 49:4, when he struggled with it, saying . . . “I have labored to no purpose; I have…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

God sometimes uses the desert experience to get our undivided attention.  It’s a good thing, too, because most of us have a lot of trouble paying attention.

We don’t need sand and camels to find ourselves in a desert season at work.  It could be a time when we find ourselves unemployed, or seemingly trapped in a dead-end job.

Hosea 2:14 says “I will lead her into the desert and speak…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

“The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”  This scripture in Exodus 20:21 paints a powerful picture of the hunger Moses had to know God personally, even when it meant overcoming the fear of the unknown.

How many times have you held back from a divine encounter?  It can seem unbelievable that God would want to spend time with each one of us, but…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

It’s hard to discern God’s will for our work when we aren’t tuned in to his direction.  When we get discouraged or distracted, we can tune God out.  This is the absolute worst thing to do!

God’s voice is never more important to hear than when we have a pressing need to hear it.  We’re limited in our ability to communicate, but God isn’t. 

As scripture reminds us in John 8:47 . . .…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

Does work life sometimes seem like a spiritual maze, where you’re looking for purposeful direction but consistently coming up with blind alleys and dead ends?  This isn’t God’s design – it’s our typical “trial and error” approach to understanding His will.

When we journey with God, we can’t stay where we are.  God always wants to develop us.  He desires a deep relationship with us.  He wants an…

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

There have been many times in my work life where everything seemed to be going wrong, and I couldn’t understand God’s purpose in it.  Not only that, the harder I tried to “fix” things, the worse they seemed to get.  Yet, I would look back months or years later, discovering retrospectively that those painful work experiences were actually helpful!

Scripture speaks to this in 2 Corinthians 1:6 . .…

Relationship Comes First

A few thoughts from Chuck Proudfit with the Marketplace Minute™ . . .

You know, sometimes we can be so frustrated with our work, everything from surviving relentless demands to finding the perfect position, that we can forget to put work into context.

My friend, God didn’t create us to live for work.  He created us to live with Him, in a close and candid relationship.

If you’ve lost motivation in a job,…