"I cling to your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. I pursue the way of your commands, for you broaden my understanding.” Psalm 119:31-32
When my husband had to leave his job in full-time ministry, I didn’t see the hand of God. In all honesty, I just cried and cried asking God why. I didn’t want to step out of the church world. It wasn’t in my plan and definitely not something I had ever considered.
Looking back, I probably responded like a child who got a tiny band-aid ripped off her
arm, but acted like someone just hacked her arm off. Our dream had been to be in full-time ministry together forever, but in following the direction of God for our lives we found ourselves in an unexpected place surrounded by the unknown.
I knew I had to trust God, but what if God leads you to a place that’s not a part of your dream?
Key word being “your” dream. Despite my circumstances, I felt His peace and trusted Him fully, but I didn’t understand. Isn’t that where we find ourselves many times, crying before God saying, “God, I trust Your plan, but I don’t understand Your process.”
He spoke to me after a few weeks filled with monsoons of tears and snotty-faced prayers, which I might add, was my feeble attempt to change His mind on the matter. Then one day, as I was reading Acts 10 about Peter’s life, I heard God's voice.
For those of you who don’t know, Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He walked with God, talked with God and ate with Jesus for three years. If anyone knew who God was, it was Peter.
At one point in his story, God asked Peter to do something that He wasn’t comfortable
doing. God dropped a huge sheet full of animals on a rooftop and then God asked Peter to rise and eat.
Peter responded to God, “No way Lord, I’ve never eaten anything that was unclean, I’m not going to start now.” (That’s a Jamie paraphrase.) You see, Peter had never before eaten anything that was considered unclean in the Jewish law. Yet, now God was dropping down a sheet full of those very unclean animals. God’s response to Peter was simple and direct. “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” Peter obeyed and did as the Lord asked.
It was at that moment, reading about Peter’s experience, that I felt God speak to my heart.
“Jamie, you need to stop praying about this and just do it. You keep calling this unclean, but I am calling it clean. This is part of your purpose.”
I stopped praying about it and received it as the hand of God in my life for this season. I began studying the passage and realized that God used this very instance as a catalyst for Peter
to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. Out of one simple act of obedience, one change in perspective, a nation was offered a relationship with God. Thousands of years later, I am still reaping the reward of Peter’s obedience.
Could God do the same with my life through obedience? The answer is a resounding yes!
You may not understand what God is asking of you in this season. You may not even want it, but your obedience to God is a milestone telling Him that you trust Him in the process.
It wasn’t until years later that I looked back and saw the hand of God weaving through every facet of that job decision. We knew it was Him. Our church needed to focus on one hire, our pastor, and we fully agreed with that.
My husband stepped into his “non-church” job and the favor of God exploded in his life in every area. Relationally he grew. Creatively he grew. Doors of opportunity and favor surrounded him. He got a chance to run in creative lanes with people who were the best in the world. And all his training and prepping made him even better for what he brought
to God’s people.
My perspective shifted. I’m not sure it would have had I not been forced to follow God down the path He was calling us to. I realized that it’s not your occupation that defines you, it’s
who God has called and created you to be. So, no matter where your foot lands, you can be God’s vessel in that place. It was a divine revelation for me.
"You may not understand what God is asking of you in this season. You may not even want it, but your obedience to God is a milestone telling Him that you trust Him in the process."
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