My name is Michael Dean Thomas. I have experience in investment banks, a Big 4 audit firm and a startup. I have worked in London, Singapore and South Africa. Welcome to my blog!
I see people drifting in life wherever I go. People grasping for things to cling onto in their careers. From millennials working at macdonalds, to corporate burnouts and to suicidal artists, each day human life is wasted on a global scale!
I have come to a conclusion: most Christian and secular career advice simply doesn’t permanently end pointless work experiences. We are so used to secular career thinking that we have even stopped believing that drifting is abnormal. Drifting is like a recurring illness, causing us to jump from one pointless career to the next.
We Need a Radical Solution to a Global Problem!
When we start work, gaining money and the latest stuff satisfies our desires. But, at some stage these things become meaningless and suddenly our careers become purposeless. Something inside of us screams “this is not right!” We ignore the warning signs, and keep going because there are bills to pay.
Without Even Realizing it, Our Careers Begin to Drift.
After drifting for a while, we hit a career dead-end. The industry changes, our situations change or we just get fed up. Panic strikes when we realize:
I Don’t Know What Else I Can Do!
We slowly become despondent if there seems no way around the career dead-end. Life seems like an endless cycle of meaningless situations. So when the first career opportunity comes along, we jump at it.
Unfortunately, the Purposeless Cycle usually starts again in our new career. We start to drift, hit a dead-end and become even more despondent than before. Many people at this stage lose hope of ever finding a meaningful career and become deeply cynical about life. This is the proverbial “pig farm” experience of the prodigal son.
Is There an Alternative to the Purposeless Cycle?
How can someone like me, who has spent nearly two decades in secular careers decide to work with God full-time? Let me share some of the life-changing experiences I’ve had.
One day I was praying and in a vision I saw Jesus standing in front of me. I heard a voice say to me “you don’t believe I rose again. Touch the holes in my hands”. In the picture I put out my hand and touched the holes in His hands. I am not only convinced that God is real, but that Jesus rose again.
God’s Kingdom Dimension is Reaching Out to Work with You!
At another time I was just walking in the street in Singapore and I heard the same voice say to me. “Take notes; this is what your book is about. The Law of Power. The Law of Peace. The Law of Persistence. The book you write will revolve around the parable of the sower…”
I said “I don’t understand what this book is about”. The response I got was “I want you to write this book ten times”. As I began to write the book ten times, I began to notice how God changed peoples careers throughout the Bible. I discovered:
God’s System of Working is Completely Different to What I Learned in Investment Banks!
I began to realize that the way out of the Purposeless Cycle was not to simply try and navigate around the drifting, dead-end, despondency steps. The solution is to:
Replace the Secular Work System with God’s Way of Working
Why Don’t We See More Christians Working in God’s Path of Life?
Since changing my career with God in July 2016, I discussed what it means to “work with God” with a diverse range of Christians. It became clear that while most Christians in traditional ministries (e.g. pastors, missionaries etc) responded to some sort of calling, most regular Christians had no idea what God had called them to do. I gradually began to discover the reasons why – limiting beliefs literally stop Christians in their tracks from pursuing a career with God. Here are some:
Limiting Belief 1: I “Know it All” by Reading the Bible
I was brought up in a traditional evangelical Church. We believed that God never really spoke to anyone except when they read the Bible or when they heard preaching straight out of the Bible. As a result, I spent hours reading and re-reading the Bible every week. As a teenager, I even won a national Bible quiz.
The Bible says that God’s Word is not simply a book, but Jesus Himself:
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 NLT)
In other words, Jesus is God’s living Word. This is why Hebrews 4 describes God’s Word as “alive and powerful”, made possible by simply coming “boldly to the throne of our gracious God”.
Theoretical knowledge only puffs us up. It does not impress God. Not only was the over-emphasis on theology in my Church growing up misplaced, but it actually held Christians back from pursuing their God-given calling. The reality is that God always builds His Church through vibrant relationships with individuals.
Limiting Belief 2: Hoping for the Best
I come across so many Christians who believe that faith means that we simply believe that things are going to work out ok.
Paul prayed for the Collosians to have complete knowledge of God’s will:
“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” (Colossians 1:9-10 NLT)
Once you know God’s will, the next step requires action: “Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.”
Instead of simply having faith, God wants us to “learn how to know Him better and better.”
Limiting Belief 3: Only Select Christians have a God-Given Purpose
Ephesians 2:10 says:
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
God created each of us to do specific types of work. When we don’t work in this way, we will not find real meaning in what we do!
Limiting Belief 4: I Know What I Want for my Career
Limiting Belief 5: I Struggle to Survive
Limiting Belief 6: All Christian Work Revolves Around Evangelism
We are rapidly seeing the decline of the “evangelical movement”. This movement comes with a doomsday approach to Christianity i.e. the world is going to end soon- we might as well just focus on saving the lost. The result? Impoverished Christians who don’t know there is much, much more.
How do I know that God is pleased with work other than simply converting the lost? Take a look at Jesus’ mission:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18 NLT)
Limiting Belief 7: Pray for God’s Kingdom to Come Down
I’ve attended many church services that discuss “working under an open heaven”. There is not much to do in this model, except praying for God to send His Kingdom down.
The reality is far more amazing. God opened heaven so that we can GO UP, and operate from dual dimensions – on earth as it is in heaven:
“No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24 NLT)
Limiting Belief 8: I Can’t Hear God Speak to Me
Limiting Belief 9: Sometimes I Hear God Speak to Me, But I Don’t Understand how it Relates to My Career
Limiting Belief 10: I know my God-Given Calling but Can’t Seem to Produce Much Fruit
In order to fulfill my own calling – which is to help people around the world work with God- I have created a few resources.
Firstly, I’ll Send You Free Resources:
I’ve noticed that many Christians are not asking God meaningful questions about their careers. Supernatural intervention seems to be the main request, including “bless me”, “help me”, “get me out of here!”
As a result, I’ve developed 15 Great Questions to Ask God About Your Career. I’ll send the page to your email when you subscribe to this blog:
I’ll also send you this free Implementation Journal, which is the companion to my book Change Your Business Career with God:
Secondly, I Pray with Christians About Their Careers
I have prayed with more than fifty Christians about their careers. Schedule an appointment if you’d like to pray with me about your career:
https://discoverupllp.setmore.com/
I operate in the heavenly realms. If you feel led to pray with me, I will help you open your spiritual eyes and connect you to God in heaven. At the moment I am only taking appointments on Tuesday and Thursday to pray with people.
Thirdly, I’ve Written a Book Called Change Your Business Career with God
If you are stuck at a career change, this book may help you to find your next step towards walking in the calling that God has placed on your life. The book is available on Amazon. When you subscribe to this blog, I’ll also send you a free Implementation Journal – which is the companion workbook.
Fourthly, Check Out the Online Facebook Community- Work Together as the Body of Christ:
“This group’s mission is to help Christians go where they want to in their careers by operating together as the body of Christ. We believe that Christians who pray together often end up working together – so we have started an international prayer network.
Curious to Find Out More?
– Check out this page if you’d like to find out more about God’s path of life!
– Did you know that there is a war for your career? If not, take a look at this page.
– If you are interested in joining a Christian working community, have a look here.
– If you are interested to know why business is closely connected to Christianity – take a look at this page.
