Great Resignation or Great Revelation?
God on Monday
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Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6.8).
Reflection
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of work has been undergoing seismic change. Employees and employers have been re-evaluating their choices, many of them looking to realign their work with their personal values. So many people have changed jobs that commentators have been speaking about the ‘great resignation’.
For many, the pandemic felt like Groundhog Day. Repeated lockdowns, border restrictions, working from home, home-schooling, and self-isolation significantly changed their relationship with work. The result has been a transition to smaller, pared-back lives, where the boundaries between work and leisure have blurred.
Isaiah’s calling also took place at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. It followed the death of King Uzziah, who had been in power for 52 years and had brought peace and prosperity to his nation. Isaiah’s willingness to serve God and to step up to his calling is impressive and inspiring, all the more so given the turmoil around him.
But it is important to note that this flowed from an intense revelation of the holiness of God: ‘I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne’. Worship led to repentance; repentance to forgiveness; and forgiveness to action.
Like Isaiah, we too can find our calling through worship and repentance. For in Jesus we experience not a great resignation but a great revelation. That revelation causes us to fall at his feet in awe and wonder. Our lives and our work become a response to his forgiveness and love.
All this gives our lives (including our working lives) a new song: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’
Response
The fluidity of work since the pandemic provides an opportunity to revisit our purpose and calling. Why do we do what we do? What fresh seeds have been sown in our lives during the last few years? To what new beginnings are we being led?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask for a fresh vision of your greatness and who you are. Renew our passion, purpose and pride in serving you. Inspire us and reveal your calling in our lives. Show us your plans for us and help us to step out in faith.
This Week's Author
Ravi Gidoomal, Director of EDGE Digital Manufacturing
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God on Monday is produced in partnership with the Church of England. The reflections are based on the scriptural readings designated for the next Sunday in the Church's lectionary. You can sign up here to receive each God on Monday instalment.
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