Coming out on the Other Side

"When you come out on the other side of the trial, it's your obligation to share your experience with someone who is still traveling the journey" -- Michele Matthews

Ephesians 3:20 – "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

Exodus 14:13-14 - "The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again."

When you’ve been a Christian for a long time you may fall in to the complacency trap.  You know that Jesus is your Savior.  You know that He died for your sins.  You know that He is a healer and a protector and a provider.  You know all that and you live your life comfortably with that knowledge. 

The challenge with having this kind of comfort is that we may forget that God’s word is a living, breathing thing – not just words on a page.  I’m the kind of person that believes that words are important.  In all my earthly relationships, I try to let people know that words are important.  Your word means everything.  Don’t say it if you don’t mean it and I do my best to do the same.  Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t.

Here’s the good news:  God always gets it right.

I believe that this is why we are so often taught that when we pray, we are to pray God’s word back to him – almost as if it is a reminder: “… you said this God, and I’m trusting that you will come through.  You are not a man that you should lie so if you said it, then I know you’re going to do it.” 

That’s Faith 101.

A few months back I was in desperate need of a job.  My savings had run out, my two, part-time jobs were not making ends meet and I was living off cash advances.  So, when I say I was desperate I’m not kidding.

I was praying daily for God to move.  I was reaching out and asking everyone that I knew to pray for me.  One person in particular, was praying that I not only find a job, but the job would exceed my expectations in every aspect including responsibilities, pay, etc.

It took a while but I finally received a job offer.  It was a good job with a decent salary – less than what I was making at my last job in this field 2 years ago but much more than I was bringing in currently and I would be able to finally dig myself out the hole that I had created.

After a few weeks, I was contacted by a recruiter who was looking for someone with my qualifications to work for their company.  I thought about it for a day and then let her know that I had accepted a position already and was not interested.

Then things drastically changed at the job I had accepted and it became clear that I probably should continue my job search.  Shortly after this revelation I was contacted by another recruiter from one of my previous employers.  This recruiter saw my resume and said, “We would love to have you back!” 

Remember when I said that “words are important”?  Well, when this recruiter said that they would love to have me back I believed her.  That wasn’t necessarily the case.  I inquired about the salary and it is was far above what my current employer was paying so I asked when I could come in for an interview.  Her response?  Fill out an application and we’ll see if the hiring manager wants to interview you.  What?  I thought you said you would love to have me back?  I completed the application and after a week I followed up and was told that the hiring manager was not interested in interviewing me.

That opportunity may not have panned out but it was almost as if the Lord was saying to me … there are other opportunities out there for you.  I blessed you with this job but I’m not done.  I said I would do exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or think.  I didn’t say I would give you “just enough”.  There’s something else out there for you.

I heard this message loud and clear and I was planning to take God at His word.  I am a strong believer that when I pray and do everything that I can possibly do, then God will do what I cannot do.

I couldn’t allow the fact that I just accepted a job stop me from the greater blessing that God had for me.  This was not the time to walk in fear.  If you want the blessings of God you must go get them.  The Lord told Joshua to be strong, be courageous, the land that I promised is yours, just go get it! (Joshua 1:3-9)

I went back through my emails and found the correspondence from the first recruiter who contacted me.  I reached out and asked if the position was still available.  She responded immediately and said that the position was still available and the CEO of the company was in town and could interview me the next day.  The interview went very well and I walked out cautiously optimistic.  Cautious, because I wanted this job so badly but I also wanted God’s best for me and sometimes what we want isn’t what God has planned for us.  I allowed myself 12 days before I followed up with the recruiter.  Her response?  The CEO was very impressed with me and would like to offer me a position.  We had a conversation to iron out some details and as I received the offer letter 2 days ago.

God is faithful.  This process has been stressful at times but I was always mindful of the fact that God had me, no matter what, He had me.  The world wasn’t going to end if I was late paying a bill.  When facing adversity God says that He will fight for us.  All we have to do is be fearless, be still, be watchful and most importantly:  be quiet.

I believe that this position will be the perfect fit for this time in my life and I will be forever grateful.