Cedric Dukes's Blog

Career Wilderness

Isaiah 41:10 –  Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

You will find out in your career that the job can become stagnant going nowhere and wonder why you are left behind. The day to day routines becomes mechanical, and you find yourself more of a robot than an entrepreneur. Being constant is not all that bad, but you can become bored and tired of doing the same thing. You will find that you become short-fused with any little thing, conversation, or missed deadline. There is a saying that the grass is not greener on the other side. But you must decide for yourself and that the unknown is greater than the known. The unknown of changing jobs, positions, or a cubicle could be more exciting in breaking the monotony of your life. The opportunity of meeting new people and doing great work excites you more than staying in the same position, becoming frustrated with the daily routine. Of course, you will miss friends and even family but know that you are destined for greatness wherever you are. Make the change if it’s right and allow the Lord to see your way through. Become what God has made you become and not be a carbon copy of someone else. You have the style and swag – wear it with professionalism.

Prayer – Lord, the unknown is scary, and I don’t know how to navigate it. I ask for your strength in this process. You have me here for a purpose. I pray you to reveal the plan or give me faith to go through it. I will continue to trust you in everything. Amen.

Rest from Grinding

Rest is hard for a person who is always on the go trying to make things work.  He or she has a list of goals or tasks to achieve for that day. They are busy at life doing stuff that they think will matter, which is not bad, but they have not stopped to evaluate. Life is not a  to-do list of goals; life is not the first one making it to the mountain top. We are here to do what we can do and allow God to rest while we rest.

Rest is not easy because you have to stop the process of being a boss and take a break from those problems. God wants to solve your money problems; He wants to rescue you without helping. He has no plan for us to do this by ourselves. God is the potter, and we are the clay. The potter puts his hands on the clay and shapes us to become pliable and not resist from being reshaped. When he shapes us, we receive restoration, which is renewing the mind, body, and spirit.  In the end, our rest is a rest from the “gotta do it “or performance-based results that will bring us into the total restoration of our mind, body, and soul.

God’s Word

Exodus 33:14 – And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”Psalm 4:8 -I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.Psalm 127:2 – It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

Keep Praying

Father, thank you for trading your peace for my issues so I can get to rest. Let your presence be continuous with me and allow me to know when I should rest from all of my work so you can begin to work on my issues. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Great Expectations

Expectations 

Sometimes our expectations don’t match God’s. Why? Maybe it’s a limitation of our human minds. Or sometimes, what we have in our minds is our success, which is the opposite of God. The goals we have in life are too short-sighted to where He wants us to go.  He is the author and finisher of our life. Our expectations must match His. Our thoughts must match His. He wants to give us His best. He wants to shower us with unlimited blessings so we can help others. Though we can never understand His complete plan because of our limited thoughts, God wants to give us everything we deserve.

God’s Word

John 14:12 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.Psalm 62:5 – My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.Luke 16:15 – And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Keep Praying

Father in Jesus’ name, do the greater work in me for your kingdom is at stake in my life. Holy Spirit guide me to do the work that I cannot physically do myself. Use me to do your will and to do your good pleasure for You. Amen 

Commitment to God in your work

1 Timothy 6:6-7 – Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Commitment is a big part of your career and judged by your speech, attitude, action, and attention to detail. Your “I will do it” goes a long way with your coworkers. Can they count on you? Can they ask you a favor to assist with a project while they are going to their kid’s soccer game, vacation, or musical recital? Unbeknownst that same commitment you made will manifest itself through raises and bonuses. Our commitment is to a God who will uphold you. So in your responsibility, don’t try to impress people,  impress God.

Prayer – Father, I pray that my commitment is to you, and as I do my work, and I thank you for making everything work out for its good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

When the promotion passes you by

Proverbs 22:29 – Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.

The promotion comes and goes to the right and wrong people in the eye of the beholder. But in the sight of God, that is the right person. Feeling bypassed is a feeling that everyone will experience. It may not be your fault. It could be the hiring manager who liked the other person for the job, which is nothing against you, or you could be missing the qualities that the job needed. Whatever it is, keep moving, keep trying, and move upward to where you want to go. Rejection is the fuel for success. No matter the number of times you get turned down, there is something for you. Just continue gaining knowledge and build your foundation rather than trying to climb the people ladder. As a result, you will quickly become more valuable and irreplaceable. Once you have that foundation, the promotion becomes easier. 

Prayer – Lord, help my heart not to become hardened when I don’t get the promotion that I desire. Show me what I need to do to continue building my foundation and help me remember to do it for you and not for man. I thank you are giving me my promotion in due time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are you a thermometer or thermostat in your work position?

Which one are you? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned this subject from sitting in jail, fighting for justice. I ask the same question – which one are you? Are you the one that waits for the room to get to a specific temperature and are impacted by the surroundings, or are you the one that regulates the temperature and conversation and mood? I am talking about engaging discussions in the meeting instead of being a bystander. Sometimes you have to become the thermometer waiting to engage. The other times you must turn on the thermostat and ask those engaging questions and bring out of the box ideas for solutions. Your influence and branding are these attributes, and people and leaders will judge you based upon these.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 – Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed.

Prayer – Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for wisdom in everything that I learn and speak, and please give me the ability to listen and bring up ideas at the right time while giving you glory. Amen

Run your on career race

Run your race is essential in your career journey.  Your career is a marathon (26.2 miles), not a 5K (3.1 miles) race. A marathon builds upon miles; that’s your career. A marathon is smooth sailing at the beginning but gets harder as it goes through the hills. Sometimes within a job, you will have to relearn the position again and again.

In some cases, you will be moved to another department because your services are no longer needed. Don’t’ give up and quit but master the new process. Running your race will build upon foundations that you previously made and conquered, so all the experience, knowledge, and ability will be fruitful for the track ahead. There is always some aspect of your current job used for your future job. Running your race is not comparing your career to your coworkers. Running your race is an invitation to allow God to make you in the masterpiece you are. Don’t be a copycat.

Isaiah 40:31 – But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Prayer – Father in Jesus’ name, help me to run my race as you have fashioned me. I know the race will not be quick, but I am asking that you give me stamina and strength to make the right decisions and choices. I pray that your Holy Spirit is right beside me, helping me every step of the way. Thank you, Amen.

You are a minister

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 – Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 

A job becomes a career and the career becomes a ministry.  I am not talking about becoming a priest or preacher. The term ministry is defined as a servant. The workplace is full of hurting people that masquerade their feelings for 8-10 hours a day. You know they are hurting by the way they talk and hide their faces. Their issue could be a wayward child or their spouse’s money habits or their in-laws. They are hurt by promotion and raises they did not receive. They are hurt by their boss who scolds them in public. They are hurt so bad there is no hope left. You as a mature person can help them navigate. Some come to work to get away from life.  We must be ready at all times to listen. We can give them an encouraging word to help them navigate. We cannot ignore their pain because they will direct their pain onto you and others. Be willing to be slow to talk but quick to listen.

Prayer – Lord, allow me to be used by you to plant the seed of hope and also allow me to always have an encouraging word for my co workers. Some are carrying burdens from home, work and school. Please heal them of hurt, anger and frustration. In Jesus name, Amen.

Obstacles are opportunities

The moment of truths in every job are the obstacles, roadblocks and dead ins that a person must face. Obstacles are apart of every assignment. They are put in place to stymie and make you succeed. Obstacles originate from people, processes and productivity. Each successful business or person will have obstacles they must go thru. The main focus of the obstacle is not the obstacle but how you can eliminate it. Thus obstacles become opportunities. Every obstacle has a limited lifespan until it is solved by reengineering it another way to meet the beed. Take the opportunity apart, find the root cause or the initiator of the problem and see it can be solved. Any obstacles can be solved money or more people but to truly solve it from occurring again, you have to take the issue apart piece by piece. God has given you critical thinking and networking skills to claim the victory.

Positive Vibes

I have found that it is easier, much easier to to be negative than positive. To tell the truth it feels good to complain because you feel powerful. To be truthful, it is easier to complain. Negativity does not change the situation. Instead of looking at the glass half full, one will look at it half empty seeing the downside of things, decreasing expectation and hope. Negativite talk starts in your mouth and ends up in your heart spoiling your work experience and relationships at that moment. The negative spin leads to a downwards spiral in performance and behavior because every situation can become worse than what it was. To combat negativity, try silence. It stops the words coming from your mouth even though it is in your head. If you keep your mouth closed nothing can come out. It also give you time to think and redirect the tone of the conversation. Slowly ease your way back to the positive of the conversation with constructive feedback. Many times I have changed a word or two using positive and uplifting words which changes the meaning and the approach of the conversation.