Where Are You? Rediscovering God’s Presence in the Marketplace
God’s first question in Genesis, asked in the garden its keepers were charged to tend. Argues that your field of work is that garden, and that the instinct to keep part of your working life hidden is as old as the story.
If you’ve ever felt the urge to keep part of your work life hidden from God, you’re not alone. From the earliest moments of human history, we see this instinct to cover up, to step back, to slip into the shadows. After Adam and Eve disobeyed, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden—the very place they were called to steward.
Instead of waiting for them to make the first move, God called out: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
It’s a question that echoes across the centuries into our own workplaces, offices, and meeting rooms.
Faith and Work Integration: Too often, we imagine God’s presence reserved for Sundays or devotional hours before dawn. But the Genesis story challenges that separation. God shows up in the domain of human labor, right in the garden, where Adam and Eve were charged to cultivate and protect creation.
If you’re in business, education, healthcare, construction, or any other field, you’re in your “garden.” Your work is not a distraction from spiritual life; it is a primary venue for it. When God asks, “Where are you?” He is not merely taking attendance. He is inviting you to step into relationship, honesty, and purpose right where you are.
Where Are You Today? In marketplace ministry, this question becomes deeply practical:
- Where are you in your integrity? Are you hiding behind success or busyness?
- Where are you in your calling? Have you drifted from the purpose God planted in you?
- Where are you in your relationships? Is there someone who needs encouragement or reconciliation?
These are not questions of shame but invitations to transparency and restoration.
A Better Response Than Hiding: When Adam heard God’s voice, he hid among the trees. Many of us do the same, concealing parts of our lives we think God will condemn. But the God who seeks is also the God who redeems. In Jesus Christ, this divine pursuit reached its fulfillment, as God walked among us again to reconcile all things, including our work.
This Week’s Challenge: As you head into your workplace, hear God’s voice asking you: “Where are you?”
- Instead of hiding, respond with openness.
- Instead of compartmentalizing, invite Him into your meetings, projects, and conversations.
- Instead of shame, expect grace.
Remember, God is still walking in gardens. He is still calling people back to Himself, right in the middle of their daily assignments.
Scripture to Meditate On Genesis 3:9 (NIV): “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”
John 20:15 (NIV): “Jesus asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’”
Notice the same pattern: God seeks. God calls. God invites.
Closing Thought and Call to Action: If you find value in this reflection, I’d be honored if you would share this edition of God at Work within your own personal and professional networks. Forward it to a friend, share it with your team, or post it to your LinkedIn to encourage someone else who may be wondering if God still walks in their “garden.”
Together, let’s keep reminding each other: faith doesn’t stay behind at the church door, it goes with us into every corner of our work and life.
Stay rooted in grace,
Dr. Doug
About the author. Douglass P. Smith, Ph.D., PMP, is Professor of the Practice in project management at the University of Kansas and a licensed minister in Kansas City, Kansas. More about Dr. Smith.
First published on LinkedIn, July 23, 2025. View the original.