How God Blessed Us Since September 2020

Well...let’s see...A lot has happened since the last time I wrote about how God is blessing me and my family. Last year around this time we were dealing with the fact that my wife had just been furloughed and then offered another job at a significant pay cut. It was an unpleasant turn of events but God promised to provide for all of our needs and He continued to do so. Our bills were paid. We were still blessed and were able to be a blessing to others during Christmas. With God’s peace to sustain us we were able to move forward according to His perfect will.

I also mentioned in last September’s post that there were opportunities presenting themselves (thank you to those who answered my call for prayer). A friend reached out to my wife to tell her about a job opening at another company. We prayed but felt that this just was not God’s will, even though the salary would have been close to what she made before the furlough. Passing up a salary increase is never easy and this one came with the promise that we could go back to a way of life to which we had grown accustomed. But the more we prayed and listened for God’s guidance, the more we felt that this easy path was not the right path.

If you are a believer you’ve likely heard some variation of how God’s “No” means He has something better in store. I can’t explain how but God said this very thing to me, not audibly but in a way that I had no doubt that it was His voice. He was saying no to this job opportunity, with the promise of something better. He even gave me a glimpse of the future by naming a salary, one that would be a significant increase over what my wife used to make. I admit, at the time I was not sure if the number was from God or if it was just me wanting an increase in our household income but by faith I wrote the number in my journal and we moved forward waiting for God’s plan to unfold.

Early this year a recruiter reached out to my wife with another job opportunity. Her name had been suggested by a former coworker (and family friend)  who knew that my wife was qualified for the position and over qualified for the job she was working during the furlough. At about the same time, my wife’s old job was phased out, turning the furlough into something permanent. The interview process went smoothly and she was offered the job. We believed this was an open door but there was just one problem. The salary did not match the number I heard in my spirit. It was close but not the same. At this point I had not told my wife the exact number. I had only told her that I thought God had promised an increase.

Well, during the final salary negotiations this new company came back with a different salary proposal. Guess what! This number was what God said it would be, down to the exact cent. Had we jumped at the first opportunity, we would have missed out on what God had already promised. By waiting we got to see Him keep His promises: both His promise to provide during the furlough and His promise of something better at the end of the furlough.

As I wrote a year ago, Christians suffer loss just like everyone else but we are blessed with God’s peace to help us  endure. We also live knowing that God has it all under control. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Last year’s post can be found here: How God Blessed Us in September

No Matter How Irritating...

It was not the answer I expected. In fact, I was praying about something else and for someone else. Initially I tried to ignore what I was hearing in my heart. I wanted to focus on that thing I thought was a priority but God had other matters that He wanted to deal with. In fact, He would not let me move on in prayer until I responded to the instruction He had so clearly impressed upon my spirit. What was it that was so important? God was calling me to love someone whom in the past I had spent time complaining about.

Come on, be honest. You know the type of person I’m talking about. It’s that person that, if you could, you would turn and run in another direction when you see them coming but for one reason or another you can’t avoid them. I won’t get into why I wish I could avoid this person (that would be gossiping) but I’m guessing many of you have THAT person in your life. So, when God told me that I had to love THAT person, His words knocked me back on my heels for a bit. I know that what He  asks is the right thing to do but...I mean...really?

Unconditional love: It’s a concept that is easy to talk about but not always easy to implement. In this case there are two hurdles: the abrasiveness of the other person and the need to keep from falling into the pit of becoming an enabler. God does not want us to join in something that is wrong (or in some cases a relationship that is dangerous) but He does want us to reflect His love in every situation. The bottom line is that Jesus loves even the most irritating among us, doing so without getting sucked into that person’s sin. If we are to do the same we must ask God to equip and guide us. In Him we can answer the call to love unconditionally, even when we would rather run.