“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness
and the world’s deep hunger meet. ” [1] 
Being God’s Partner
How to Find the Hidden Link Between Spirituality and Your Work
by Jeffrey K. Salkin
Being God’s Partner is about re-framing your experiences. It’s about looking at what you do in your life in an entirely different way. [2]
Take for instance the following story:
Three men are working on a construction project.
An outsider comes along and asks one of the men: “What are you doing?”
“Schlepping bricks,” he answers.
So he asks the next one, “What are you doing?”
“Making $8.50 an hour,” he says.
Finally he asks the third, “What are you doing?”
“Building a place for the presence of God”, he replies.
This brings to mind a well-known Hassidic response to the question:
“Where is God?” Answer: “Wherever you let Him in.”
When we are doing the task that God calls us to do, our work is holy.
Norman Lear describes in his introduction to Rabbi Salkin’s Being God’s Partner:
“Too often, we divorce our ‘work life’ from our ‘real life,’ from our innermost beliefs and convictions. But ‘work’ can be as much a part of our life—and as much a vehicle for spiritual growth and personal understanding—as going to synagogue or church on Saturday or Sunday, or taking a walk in the woods, or reading quietly to our kids at bedtime. In fact work may be among the most potent vehicles for fulfilling our spiritual life because, for many of us, it presents the best opportunities to meld community and social and economic productivity with personal belief and individual talent.”
For myself [Cindy], this was an extremely personal read. A few years ago our nest underwent re-feathering when our ‘only’ left for college. I went from being a 24/7 homeschooling mom with purpose and direction to tripping over my own feet as I clumsily sought to figure out what I was to do now.
The greatest gift Jeffrey Salkin gives in this book is the understanding that whatever work we do becomes a way to make God’s heart heard in this world. Abraham Heschel writes:
To be is to stand for something, and what human beings stand for is the great mystery of being God’s partner. God is in need of human beings.
A great mystery indeed!
“Our dilemma and our goal is to assure that this partnership with God brings nobility to our work, purpose to our livelihood and deep satisfaction to our labors.” [3]
For reasons only God understands, He has entered into a partnership with His children in the unfolding of His purpose and desires in this world. And in this broken world, filled with broken lives, God is busy gathering, restoring, and redeeming all the scattered pieces.
May we answer God’s call to partner with Him in His healing work!
Footnotes:
1. Frederick Buechner, quoted by Jeffrey K. Salkin, Being God’s Partner, preface
2. Jeffrey K. Salkin, Being God’s Partner, preface
3. ibid., pg. 97
Please take a moment and click your response to the work related question below – sorry, only one allowed so consider the one that would rank the highest – then click the Vote button.
Thank you!
~ Keren & Cindy
[polldaddy poll=7893848]
2 Responses
Thank you Cindy,
I have two jobs and it’s hard sometimes to keep going and to pay all my bills.
God has blessed me in giving me the strength I need and I don’t forget to thank him in all circumstances.
My husband left me nine years ago and the Lord ensured that I stayed in the marital home and has enabled me to earn enough to pay the mortgage and live on.
I try to do the best I can in order to glorify him and to go the extra mile when needed.
All my dependence is on him and when times become hard, he is my mighty counsellor.
((((Katherine))))) what a testimony to our Abba’s love your words are and what a beautiful heart you have! I pray our Abba continues to bless you and keep you and smile on you every moment of every day ❤ a hug and much love to you ❤