There is a part of me who does not want to be where I am doing what I am doing. There is a part of me who is grateful to be where I am, doing what I am. Then there is the part that is at odds with both of those perspectives. We, even those of us who are not color blind, tend to see things in various shades of black and white. Right is almost always right and wrong is usually wrong. Unless it is partially right, then it is just confusing.
If I do not want to do what I am doing, I am not fully engaged. It is just a means to an end and the sooner I can get to my end goal the sooner I will be happy. I put up with having to be where I am doing what I have to do to get through it but it is definitely not a soul satisfying endeavor I am engaged in. Yes I can do this; because it provides a paycheck and I can occasionally steal away time to do what I delight in. No I do not see myself doing this in x number of weeks, months or years. If circumstances were right and I could let the expectations and desires of others go, I would be gone in a New York nanosecond. For those who do not know, that is how long it takes for the driver behind you to hit the horn when the traffic light turns green and you haven’t moved your foot off the brake pedal. I’m ready, I’m primed, I’m dreaming and anticipating and I am not, capital N-O-T, NOT wanting to stay here doing this one moment longer than I absolutely have to.
Or, I am grateful that I am currently employed. This means I exchange my time and talent to help the company I work for become more successfully profitable than they would be without me. I benefit by receiving a paycheck which I exchange for goods and services which I wish to have.
So, for the benefit of those things which I deem desirable, I am glad I am where I am doing what I am doing. I also enjoy the admiration of those who appreciate my utilizing the gifts and talents God has bestowed upon me to enhance the overall significance of the endeavor we are engaged in. I tend to be in competition with others in similar situations for the respect and rewards which are available. I am at least satisfied or maybe even happy with my circumstance. Most people connect in a positive personal way with their work. They have friends there. They develop skills and talents which showcase their abilities to others. So how is that in plain simple street-talk? I like my job and the benefits it provides both monetarily and personally.
In years gone by, it used to be said that men received their actualization from their work and women from their home and family. Actualization means what or where you derive your self-worth from. Today, women are much more interwoven into the work environment and the home becomes less of a factor in either their lives or their male counterparts. This just adds to the confusion of “Who am I and what should I be doing?” Still we recognize that working is a means to an end and not the end itself. For some retirement is the goal. For others a change of venue of position or career path and for still others maybe just to be far less driven by the demands and desires of stuff or others or even self. Some want to succeed in huge ways. Some want to simplify and transition. Some want to just walk away and no longer care what someone else views as critically important.
This applies to the rich and famous, the up and coming as well as the down and out. Everyone seems to be moving in one direction or another. This is that third option I mentioned. I am not in love with where I am at in life. Nor do I desperately desire a change into my calling in life for which I was created. So what is left? Do I just drift around at the whim of others? Or can I truly transition to joy?
So the part of me that wants to keep on keeping on, recognizes the part of me that wants radical change and the cost involved in that desire. The cost to happily stay the course is sometimes perceived as a lack of adventure or avoiding the pleasure of leisure. Yet what is perceived as the most costly possibility is what if I miss what I am most gifted and designed to be? When I hold a door open for others to pass through, I often jokingly say “It is not my chosen occupation, but it is what I am best suited for”.
That thought says “What if we were actually doing what we felt God had specifically intended us to?” Although there are some consequences to that, it most probably allows us to exist in the greatest state of happiness we can obtain in this life. Joy is often thought to be synonymous with happiness. Yet you can have great joy without much happiness. Some will argue the point, however I would stipulate that happiness is a response to tactile physical inputs and joy is the exultant state of contentment.
Being content allows you to forgo the milestones or expectations someone else might deem necessary. Being happy indicates a level of performance based satisfaction. It may be a fine distinction but I am drawing it. If I express happiness it is possible for others to perceive it as a desire to remain in the circumstances which caused me to display it. But if I demonstrate the joy of contentment, there can be no mistaking the ultimate sense of purpose and belonging. It may be possible for me to be distracted temporarily but as Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz “There’s no place like home”. 
Once I am content I will never want to be anywhere else doing anything else. Every dream I have ever experienced will become distant and inconsequential. This is what it means to the Christian to be in Christ. It is to be so fully engaged that only His voice matters, only His thoughts are worthy, only being like Him at any cost will be commendable.
So then, being there, in Him, defines what brings you joy. Whatever thoughts or activities you perceive are pleasing to Him are pleasing to you. The thing you desire to do and the thing you disdain bear the same weight of unfamiliarity. If you are allowed to be the doorman for the place where His glory is proclaimed it would be far better than being the chairman of the board for a place which would marginalize your relationship with Him. And walking in the way He has directed you just as Phillip did by travelling into the desert to meet one man who needed to know of Jesus, is beyond humanly definable value. Even our sorrows are turned to joy when He gives us His strength. So how is your transition to joy going?