Have you been in a job situation where you just don’t feel called anymore and/or are miserable due to unfair management practices and/or have a desire to move closer to family? Hopefully you lifted the situation up to The Lord like David (2 Sam 22:1-3; Ps 3:7) and sought discernment for next steps. I realize this can be a real challenge especially when you have a family to support, but you must be diligent in seeking guidance from the Lord.
Check out this story about a young family’s trek from college to the ministry and transition into the American workforce while seeking to serve The Lord. A couple who met in college were called in to a ministry in Texas building homes for indigent families in Mexico. After three years, the couple felt called to serve God in another way. They stepped out of this specific ministry and into jobs in their trained disciplines while serving in their local church.
During the next year, the couple developed a desire to return to their hometown area in the southeastern US. Godly counsel advised them to lift this desire up God and wait patiently on His plan for them. In my experience, this can be extremely difficult to do and it was for them. The Godly advice told them not to go ahead of God’s plan (1 Sam 13;1-14). They had decent paying jobs, a house payment and a baby girl so just walking away from the jobs without selling the house and moving back home without jobs just wasn’t wise no matter how much they wanted to move away from their situation. They were counseled that by trusting in God’s plan, they would have peace in the interim (there was no guarantee that God’s plan included a move back to their hometown area).
The couple prayed and was patient (Ecc 7:8). A few months later the husband learned he would be laid off. Was this the sign they had been waiting for? Well, this led to interviews for two jobs back in their hometown area and a job offer (not the ideal job financially or otherwise but a job) so they set the wheels in motion to relocate across the country not certain how they would manage the house payment until the house sold.
Trust God, Trust God, Trust God that’s all I can say. I truly believe God honors our faithfulness (1 Sam. 26:23)…sometimes in the near term but most of the time in the long-term. So what happens from here (in the next 60 days!!!!) is truly a blessing from The Lord.
The husband relocates ahead of his family to get started in the new job (turned out to be a poor match for his family needs but he would do it until another opportunity became available). It is agreed that he and the family will live with his parents for a period until the house where they are moving from is sold and the job situation sorted itself out (he was willing to do whatever he had to complete the relocation and support his family even if it meant working multiple jobs to make ends meet). The couple was at peace with the unfolding situation in the midst of so many unknowns because they were trusting God.
Well wouldn’t you just know that house would sell in one day, at the listed price, in a down market and the new owners wanted immediate possession!!!!!! Wow…a huge blessing, relief…and yet another sign from The Lord!!!???
The husband travels back to Texas to pack up their belongings and bring the family to their new temporary home with his parents…he thought. Remember the other job he interviewed for…well, the company wheels turned slowly but they called him when he was packing up and offered him a terrific job about three hours south of his parent’s home and nearer to his wife’s parent’s home…WOW!!!
The family completed the relocation debt free and some four years later God’s provision is meeting their needs. The wife has been able to be a stay at home mom while the kids are pre-school age and the couple has become extensively involved in a couple of local ministries. They are seeking Godly guidance for their next steps in serving His kingdom.
This may sound unbelievable but it is true. God’s plan for us is always better than any plan we devise (Jer 29:11).
Do you have a story of God’s faithfulness to share?