Do your work well. Don’t disengage with your work, viewing it just as a job that you have to do, but don’t really want to do well. Don’t be so driven that you try to prove your worth by working hard. Instead, do whatever work you do – from changing diapers or answering phones to inventing a product or speaking to crowds – with your very best effort, remembering that absolutely everything you do has eternal consequences. Look at every task you undertake as an opportunity to serve God through your attitude. Instead of working just for a paycheck or praise from other people, work to honor God. Take a weekly Sabbath rest to recharge and acknowledge your ultimate dependence on God for your work and everything else in your life. Surrender your own career plans to God’s bigger and better plans for you. Instead of expecting God to work around what you’re doing, decide to direct your work around what God is doing.

Tell your story. When you talk with other people – family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, strangers, etc. – be willing to tell them the full story of how God has worked in your life so far. Don’t change or leave out any important details because you’re afraid of what they may think of you if you told them the whole truth. Realize that the story of how your brokenness has caused you to depend on Christ is much more powerful than any other story you could tell to try to impress people. Trust that every difficult and painful event in your life can be used to glorify God and tell others of His great love. Tell others what God has done for you!

Adapted from Beyond the Masquerade: Unveiling the Authentic You, copyright 2007 by Dr. Julianna Slattery. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill., www.tyndale.com.  

Dr. Julianna Slattery and her husband, Michael, live in Akron, Ohio, with their three boys.  Julie is a Christian psychologist, speaker, and writer whose passion is communicating God’s truth and love into the everyday lives of women.  She is a regular contributor to Focus on the Family broadcasts and periodicals.