“Distress calls”. When I hear this term I think of either something that happens at sea or something that a policeman or fireman would do when they are in trouble. But, the truth of the matter is that every workplace has their own version of distress calls. It just may not be as obvious as those that we hear and see from TV or other sources. Our distress calls come in the form of people who burn out or become overwhelmed to the point that they feel like they need to walk off the job in order to regain balance or sanity in their lives. Today, there are more and more people who feel this way. This past week, a strange hero was created from the antics of the guy, Steven Slayter, who decided to quit his JetBlue flight attendant job in a very colorful way. I have been troubled since this story by the number of people and media outlets who have lifted him up as a new folk hero of the working person. What this did tell me is that many people are feeling frustrated, trapped and unfulfilled in their current jobs and with the economy the way it is, they would rather stay in their current situation than risk a move or worse yet, join the unemployed. These are distress calls in a distressed time. As believers we are not immune to these feelings in our jobs. But, we have a better place to send our distress calls. In Psalm 55:17, David models this for us; “Morning, noon and night I plead aloud my distress, and the Lord hears my voice”. If today, you are feeling distressed and you are placing the call, but you feel like no one is listening or responding, then it may be that you are sending the call in the wrong direction. Try allowing God to be on the receiving end of your problems and challenges at work and see if the answers don’t come back in a better and different way.

Reference: Psalm 55:17 (New Living Testament)