by Catherine Gray
We’ve all heard it said that God is the CEO of our business – He’s the one in charge because He is the one in charge of everything, the one we submit to, the one we want to be led by. Plus, He’s all-knowing which is always handy,isn’t it? But I want to look at whether we’ve undersold God’s talents by utilizing His skills in one area and therefore not looking closely enough at where He shows up with a different job description. This isn’t a theological statement, in fact, it’s going to sound downright ridiculous at times, but I’m interested in what happens if we unpick the analogy and find out how much more He can get involved with and show up as the perfect role model of various positions that exist in a workplace.
Visionary / Director – Ezekiel 40:2
In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city
God shows us a future that we may not have imagined were we doing it on our own. But have you ever asked Him for more details? I invite God into the strategic plan, the 5 year, 3 year, 1 year plan and oh my goodness, I am headed in directions I would not have believed if you’d asked me a while ago. I ask Him what He sees when I’m trying to plan something, I ask Him what else I need to take into consideration and I always check in with Him so that I’m aligned with why we are doing what we are doing and whether we are doing it at the best time.
Risk Management / Health and Safety – Acts 20:30-31
Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
God warns us of things. He gives us the ‘heads up’ that this might not be the way to go, or that something unexpected is going to happen so we can know when it’s time to ‘brace, brace.’ Some clients who I speak to about this get a bit scared of knowing what disaster may be about to befall them, but I’m not suggesting we have detailed premonitions of everything that is about to come. I’m saying we can be ahead of the game when it comes to advances in our market, and making wise decisions now, to help us to avoid downfalls that unfortunately may affect others. So why not ask Him what He can tell you about what needs to be in place?
HR, Hiring and Firing – Mark 12:38-39
As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
Have you ever had that gut feeling that even though the person in front of you is exemplary in everything they do and say, and shows up miles above everyone on the interview scores, they are in fact the last person you want on your team? Trust it! If it seems too random or too ridiculous to have come from your logical mind, then maybe there’s a reason you can not yet foresee and you (and the potential new hire) are being protected from something or released into something else. There are always so many moving parts and unknown factors in people’s lives, which means putting God in charge of HR is the best way to look after people. Ask Him what you need to know about your people or the people about to join you.
Administrator – 1 Corinthians 12:27-28
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Ever heard someone say ‘I just do admin’? This drives me completely bonkers, partly because I used to be the person who said it every week! The Bible speaks of administration in the same list of giftings as apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. Shouldn’t that give us a clue as to its gravitas? There is no gift that is ‘better’ than another, and yet, our humanness loves to create hierarchy. I’ve been told I have the gift of administration and if that is true, let me tell you it is anything but clerical. It involves overseeing complex processes and people structures, seeing systems as whole, intertwined entities even when we are looking at minute details, and keeping things on track even when we are being pulled in a million directions. I love that stuff! So let’s remember the key part admin has to play in all the wild and wonderful things we want to do and ask God ‘what’s next on the list?’
P.A. – same bible verse as above. See ‘helps’
Oh my goodness, the number of times God has sent me a reminder of something I should be doing or someone I need to contact! I used to not give Him the credit for this as I’m a very organized person, but once I started noticing it and paying more attention, it became apparent that God is the ultimate P.A. I think of someone or something and send a message, only to be immediately asked how on earth I knew that they needed a conversation today or that a ‘big’ thing was happening and so it was incredibly apt that my ‘voice’ was the one they heard that day. (This is even more fun when those people are not Christians and I get to tell them that God let me know they needed a ‘check in.’) Ask God what needs to be on the calendar this week, what your time should be spent on, and who you should be speaking to and when.
Cleaner – Ezekiel 36:25
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
Isn’t God the best mess clearer upper that you’ve ever met?! When I’ve got my head in my hands and I don’t know where to start or I can’t face the amount of tidying that needs to be done, He spurs me on, guides me on what to do and when we get there, I not only feel cleaner but also cleansed. He is the King of the deep clean! When I’m surrounded by bits of paper and scattered thoughts, He knows where to start to make a dent in the untidiness. When I need to clean my mind of all the negative thoughts and many, many distractions He reminds me of tools we have to bring back focus, positivity, and clarity. Have you ever met a cleaner who feels called to clean? I’ve heard stories of them and it is quite something to behold. Their workplace doesn’t view them or treat them any differently to someone in management and they bring a shininess to the atmosphere of the place, not just the surfaces around them.
Consultant – Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.
Those times you are completely flummoxed and just need an expert to come in and give you answers and a process that will fix things… well God does that too. I’ve seen Him give blueprints to people, share snippets of possibilities and timings, say stop or go go go. We really do have the best adviser available to us 24/7. So what is it that you really really need to know in order to make that next move or finally make that big decision? Ask Him!
Trainer – John 14:26
But the [a]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
I have a friend who was talking to a psychologist and explaining something she was going to share at an event later that day. Knowing she was not trained in that area of expertise, the psychologist asked if she realized she was explaining a few theories incredibly well, told her what they were called, and asked her where she had learned about them. My friend had no idea that these were already proven topics and theories, and with a smile on her face replied ‘I go to Holy Spirit school. He teaches me everything I know.’
How wonderful is that?!
SO, do you get the idea? Of course, God is my CEO and my business partner. The Lord of everything.
He is also my copywriter, my marketing expert, my mental health first aider, my board of trustees, and everything in between because we are in the business of doing business together. He knows what’s about to change within a social media algorithm and when I need to pay attention to or ignore what all the human social media gurus are saying. He knows who needs to hear my message and how to get them to see it. He knows the 90-day plan, how to get me on board with that, and how to keep things on track throughout the process.
He has made every one of us with unique talents, so doesn’t it make sense that He can do all those tasks and roles and callings too? Putting Him in the CEO chair without allowing Him to show up in other meetings or day-to-day events just limits how much input He has into the workings of it all.
I’d love to know what other role descriptions have you seen Him fulfill in your life.
As for me, I’m off to do some lead generation with God as my sales team.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cat is a Leadership and Talent Coach who loves to see people aligned with their strengths and giftings so that they can keep growing in joy both at home and at work. She is passionate about enabling people to hear from God about all aspects of their lives on a regular basis. Cat lives in Bristol, UK with her husband, two sons and occasional foster children and loves to read, paddle board and go on new adventures whenever possible.
