“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do.” Ephesians 6:7-8 (NLT)
Have you ever been forced to take a job you didn’t really want? Maybe you couldn’t find your dream job or financial needs made you take the job that was available but not the one you wanted. You had to settle for what you thought was best.
This was one of the many setbacks Joseph in the Bible faced—to a much greater degree than we will ever experience. Genesis 37:36 says, “Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh—the king of Egypt” (TLB).
In a matter of days, Joseph went from being a pampered son in his father's home to being a slave in someone else's home in a foreign country. He was doing work he never expected to do, without having any say in the matter.
We may be in jobs right now that we really don't like or don’t want to do, that we wish we didn't have to do. We may wish we were doing something else somewhere else. Maybe on the worst days, it even feels like forced labor. It seems like a setback, and we don’t see an end in sight.
If that’s you, then you probably can identify with Joseph and how he felt.
But Joseph made a pretty remarkable decision: Wherever Joseph went and whatever he did, he chose to do the best he could with what he had for God. Even as a slave, away from his home, he served with his whole heart and tried to honor God with good work and good character.
Joseph took the work of a slave and gave it meaning. He did this by working for God and not for his human master. He saw God as his boss, and so he gave God his best in his work.
And it didn’t go unnoticed: Joseph’s excellent work stood out and led to promotions by his master that eventually landed him in the service of the king.
Ephesians 6:7-8 says, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do” (NLT).
No one else may notice your efforts, and we may not see our reward until we get to heaven. But our diligent, faithful work in our job will never go unnoticed by the One whose opinion matters most.
In summary:
The text explores the tension between undesirable circumstances and divine purpose through the lens of Joseph’s life and the exhortation in Ephesians 6:7-8. It argues that your current environment—even if it feels like a professional setback or "forced labor"—is an arena for character development and spiritual service. By shifting your perspective from serving human "masters" to serving God, you infuse mundane or difficult tasks with eternal significance. Joseph’s journey from slavery to leadership demonstrates that excellence in the "low" places is often the catalyst for God’s promotion, emphasizing that faithful work is always seen and rewarded by the Lord.
Bottom Line:
Your current work is not a detour from your calling, but the very training ground where your character is refined for the "God's service."
Next Step:
Identify the specific task in your current role that you find most draining or "meaningless," and for the next five workdays, perform that task with the deliberate intention of it being a direct offering to God. This isn't just about "working harder"; it is about identity alignment—reminding yourself that you are a steward of God’s reputation, not just a recipient of a paycheck. By practicing excellence where you feel undervalued, you build the disciplined action required to handle the greater responsibilities you are aiming for in your long-term goals.
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