JANUARY 1

Failure That Leads to Godliness

All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander.

1 SAMUEL 22:2 NIV

God uses broken things to accomplish his greatest work. When David was anointed to be the next king, he was just a boy. Little did he know that he would flee from Saul’s sword for the next several years or that Saul’s failures would turn into obsessions as a leader who had fallen from God’s anointing. Perhaps David thought, Why am I living a life as a fugitive? I am the next king of Israel. Yet, his life was filled with adversity before he ever fulfilled the ultimate calling God had for him. But it was his failures that attracted others to him. It was “those who were in distress or in debt or discontented” who would be part of his army—and what an army it was!

God often uses failure to make us useful. When Jesus called the disciples, he did not go out and find the most qualified or the most successful. He found the most willing, often among everyday people.

Father, help me to understand that failing does not make me a failure. Help me to fail forward in my life.

JANUARY 2

Full-Time Christian Work

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

COLOSSIANS 3:17 NKJV

Jonathon was a twenty-five-year-old son of a pastor who was working in his local Christian bookstore. He started seminary but was unable to finish because of a lack of finances. He was fine with working in the store but felt it was second best. In fact, sometimes he felt he had “missed his calling.”

Then one day a young woman wandered into the store. She was distressed. She was not a believer. Her husband had just left her, and she did not know where to turn. While she was walking through the mall, she noticed the store, so she decided to walk in, not knowing why.

“Hello, may I help you?” said Jonathon.

“Well…I don’t know. I saw your sign and just came in.” Right then, she began to cry. She told Jonathon about her plight though Jonathon didn’t know why she would share such personal details with a perfect stranger. Jonathon listened and began to talk with her. Before the conversation was over, Jonathon had prayed with the woman and led her to faith in Christ.

That night Jonathon felt a new sense of purpose behind what he thought was simply a job to put food on the table until he could get to his real ministry. He confessed to the Lord his wrong view of his work. For the first time, he realized it was ministry too.

God, demonstrate your power through my life so that others might experience you through me today.

JANUARY 3

Called by Name

These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz.

GENESIS 36:15 NIV

Years ago, I discovered that God gave me a name that had something to do with my future call from him. I was forty-four years old and had just gone through two of the most difficult years of my life. During that time, God brought a man into my life who discipled me in areas where I had never been trained. As a result, I came to identify with the struggles of Esau and Joseph in their desire to understand their own birthrights. I’d been writing about these discoveries to help believers understand their own callings through their work. One morning my friend looked at me and said, “Do you know the meaning of Omar?”

Omar is my first name. My full name is Omar Smallwood Hillman III. Dr. Smallwood had delivered my grandfather. No one, not even my mother, knew the origin of the name Omar. They put the O and the S together to call me “Os.”

“You need to know the meaning of Omar. It has something to do with your future,” said my friend.

Startled by his assertion, that night I looked up the name Omar. Here is what I found: Arabic: “flourishing” and “long-lived” and Hebrew: “speaker.” Rooted in the Middle East. Omar was the grandson of Esau.1

I was shocked. I’d just completed three hundred pages of material on the relationship of Christian businessmen to the life of Esau. My friend quickly concluded that God had called me to free Christian businessmen and women from the “Esau life.” And he had allowed me to receive a name that related to the person of Esau.

Father, thank you for knowing the very hairs on my head.

JANUARY 4

The Blame Game

Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.”

GENESIS 16:1–2 NKJV

Marriage can be difficult at times. If you are married, you already know this. Sometimes we can do what our wife asked us to do, and if the outcome is bad, we get blamed for it even if it was our spouse’s idea. Such was the case with Abram when Sarai concluded that the best way to have a son was to have it through their maidservant, Hagar.

A few verses later we see Sarai blame Abram for her actions: “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me’” (v. 5).

The interesting thing we see in this passage is what Abram did not say in response. Most of us would have said, “Well, you told me to do that, you know.” Instead, Abram did not bring it up. He simply advised his wife to handle it as she saw fit.

Sometimes we as husbands simply need to absorb wrongs committed and be Christ to our wives, forgiving and moving forward.

Father, let me forgive my wife when she accuses me of a wrong I never committed.

JANUARY 5

Why God Blesses

David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.

1 CHRONICLES 14:2 NKJV

King David learned an important lesson every leader must learn if he is to ensure God’s continual blessing. He knew why God blessed him. It wasn’t because he deserved it, though he was a man who sought God with his whole heart. It wasn’t because of his great skill, though he was a great military strategist. It wasn’t because he was perfect, for he committed some horrible sins during his reign as king. No, it was for none of these reasons. God blessed David “for the sake of His people Israel.” God never blesses an individual just for that person’s exclusive benefit. God calls each of us to be a blessing to others. So often we forget this last part.

R. G. LeTourneau, a businessman who built heavy construction equipment, came to realize this only after God took him through many trials. Once the Lord had all of him, LeTourneau came to realize that the question wasn’t whether he should give 10 percent of what the Lord gave him. Rather, the question was, “What amount does he want me to keep?” LeTourneau was known for giving 90 percent of his income toward the end of his career and was a great supporter of world missions. But the Lord doesn’t bless workplace believers just for the ability to give financially.2

Lord, free me to be a blessing to those in my circle of influence.

JANUARY 6

Called to Craftsmanship

The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”

EXODUS 31:1–5 NIV

Bezalel was called by God to perform a most important work for him. I am sure that Bezalel believed that he was naturally gifted with his hands to make fine crafts with gold, silver, and bronze. He probably did not associate it with God’s work. But the Scripture tells us that God chose him and filled him with God’s Spirit.

Does God call men and women into their vocations to fulfill his purposes? Have you ever thought about how the balance of interest among each human throughout the world happened?...