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PROGRAM D-8095

I get many reports from people who read my Daily Encouragements and follow us online, about their struggles on the job, including unfair treatment, being lied to or lied about, observing lack of integrity, and working for very difficult management. Does that sound familiar to you?

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls—people and circumstances that truly catch us off-guard and cause great stress and confusion. What do you do when life throws you a curve ball on the job?

I know a woman named Traci, a teacher in a public school, who lived through several years of curve balls on her job. Through it all, she refused to quit or become discouraged and instead became a beacon of light in a dark place. It wasn’t easy for her, but on a daily basis she simply determined to believe that God was still in control, even in the face of difficult people, an impossible boss, and an overwhelming workload.

I think of someone else I know who refused to do what his boss asked him to do because it was illegal. When that curve ball came his way, he had to take a stand and not allow his integrity to be compromised. He purposed in his heart—as Daniel did in the Bible—not to give in to the pressure of the workplace. He lost his job because of it and was unemployed for about six months. It was an unexpected turn of events for him—a curve ball for sure—but he stood true to do what he knew was right.

What kind of curve balls are you dealing with now where you work? My guess is it has something to do with people—or a person. Someone who is opposing you or making your life very difficult on the job. Will you respond with integrity, with grace, with patience, and with love? Or will you instead let it make you bitter and vengeful?

Curve balls have a way of bringing out the best or the worse in us. Whatever you’re facing, I encourage you to let God give you the strength and wisdom to take that curve ball and hit it out of the park—for the glory of Jesus Christ.