Making Career Decisions within God's Will for Your Life

Delivered by: Fakorede Emmanuel
Venue: CAC No 1, Edunabon.

Every Christian must come to realize that God is the giver of career (Gen2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.)(PS32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.), and does that based on the aptitude and abilities he has given each and every of us, hence nobody is useless, we are all unique (Ps. 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.).

What is career? A career is the sequence of occupations, jobs and positions held during the course of life
There are principles that guides making a choice of one’s career:

PRINCIPLE 1: God has created you with the aptitude for particular skills and abilities, and with the inclination toward particular interests. Your design is the most important factor to consider in making career decisions.
You are God's handiwork. He created your inmost being, and knit you together in your mother's womb. You have been given work-related gifts that have been chosen specifically for you (Romans 12:6-8 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.). God desires for you to use the gifts He has given you. Working out of your design will bring you satisfaction, will bless and enable you to serve others effectively, and will bring glory to your Designer. Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great. To make good career decisions you must have a thorough knowledge of your personality, skills and abilities, interests and values. Without this knowledge, you are not fully equipped to make good career decisions.
“Discover a purpose that gives you passion. Develop a plan that makes you persistent. Design a preparation and motivates you to optimize your potentials. Do it because you love it!” ― Israelmore Ayivor, Dream Big!: See Your Bigger Picture!

PRINCIPLE 2: Prayerfully seek the mind of God on his will to know how he wants you to apply your innate abilities and skills in career choice making.
Consider how difficult it is to operate a device without understanding the user’s manual, so it is without knowing God’s will for your life in the area of choice. Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
John 3:27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

Principle 3: know the career choices available for you
It is important you know the various career available, it is there and then you can understand where God is leading you to.

All courses and careers are obtainable in all our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are obtainable in our JAMB brochure.

Principle no4: Planning
Pr24:-3-5 3 ¶ By wisdom is a house builded, And by understanding it establisheth itself. 4 And by knowledge the inner parts are filled, With all precious and pleasant wealth.
in modern and more relevant way3-4 Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. (the living bible).
Picking a career is useless without planning, engaging your brain and keeping abreast of facts (knowledge) Your intellectual capacity determines the quality of your plan.
Now your career has become your goal, you have to plan towards attaining your goal(career). This simply involves knowing the subjects you must offer and pass at credit level including your JAMB subjects, to be admitted for choice programme in the tertiary intuitions.
Actually planning for your career starts from the primary, so if you are yet to start planning you are probably late, but thank God for this lecture you can still pick it up.
The reason why a lot of students never achieved their dreams but settled for the second is because they never had a plan to reach their goal; they in the school of mediocrity.
Lu 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Proverbs 24:27
Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
Planning saves your time, grants you speed and cures failure
Planning is winning, just as breathing is winning
Planning gives value to goals
Planning brings your future into present
Our God does his things by planning: The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, —Isaiah 14:24
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. —Isaiah 25:1

So He wants you to plan to:
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
—Proverbs 21:5

To live with no motivation or planning is not God’s desire. 6 ¶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
“Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.” ― Alan Armstrong

Praying without planning is playing without knowing-Bishop oyedepo.

The facts below could help you in planning.