Today’s Bread ~ E-mail from Jason

Hello, friends!  Today’s bread is an e-mail exchange between me and a man who is seeking direction in his life.  This is a state that I struggled in for years, and I am feeling led to share it with you.  May God bless you richly in all you do, and I pray that, if you are also in a state of flux, that He would reveal Himself to you in a mighty way.

Hi Rebecca,
I just need the wisdom and guidance from God on what to do with my life. I’m just not sure what he wants me to do and at a loss after being laid off multiple times in the last few years. I’m 39 and have never been in this situation and have lost faith in corporate America. I know there is something God is trying to tell me just don’t know what it is and why I’m in this situation.

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this situation but I do believe in God and the power of prayers. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and your prayers.

Sincerely,
Jason (name and some details have been changed)

Hi Jason,

I’m so sorry – I can’t imagine what you must be feeling.  I wanted to let you know that although I was slow to write you back (hard to carve out time during the day with a 4 and 5 year old – it’ll be easier in the fall when school starts), I have been praying for you.
 
I have a few things that popped into my mind when I first read your e-mail:
 
James 1:5-8 – If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you.  He will not resent your asking.  But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  They can’t make up their minds.  They waver back and forth in everything they do.
 
This is a promise that YOU CAN CLAIM.  God delights in you.  He adores you.  He thinks about you ALL THE TIME.  He has a plan for your life (Jer. 29:11) and it is a plan more wonderful than you can imagine (1 Cor. 2:9).  And His plan IS FOR YOU TO HAVE GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.  If you read back in Genesis 2:19, you’ll see that the very first thing God did was put Adam to work.
 
I very much believe in praying Scripture out loud.  When I was trying to figure out what God wanted me to do with my life, He gave me these verses to memorize and speak (New Living Translation, by the way):
 
Psalm 25:4-5 – Show me the path that I should walk, O Lord.  Point out the right road for me to follow.  Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the God who saves me.  All day long I put my hope in You.
 
There are a few things popping out at me right now about this verse (and I’m assuming they’re for you – because I prayed this for years and never thought of it this way):
 
First, “Point out the right road for me to follow.” – There are many WRONG roads to go down, and only one that is right.  The only way to know if it’s the RIGHT road is to ask God.  God will certainly tell you – reread James 1.  How will you know for certain if it’s the right road?  You will have peace over it.  How do you know if it’s a WRONG road?  You will have anxiety in your stomach.  Don’t make the mistake of trying to talk yourself into a wrong road being right (I do it all the time and it never works out). 
 
Second, “Lead me by Your truth and teach me,” – What is God’s truth?  He loves you, and He expects you to love Him with your whole heart, whole mind, whole soul and all your strength.  What does that look like?  It looks like obedience.  John 14:21 – Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them.  And I will reveal myself to each one of them.
 
God spoke something over me when I was wanting to leave radio but not sure if it was what God wanted me to do.  I kept praying and begging for Him to reveal the path, and He REALLY started to press the issue of obedience on me.  If God was going to trust me with the big things (ministry, speaking and writing – which is what I wanted to do) He needed to know that He could trust me in the small things.  I started to REALLY watch the way I presented myself – making every effort not to complain, not to gossip, loving my husband the way God wanted me to, driving the speed limit, giving cheerfully and generously, being the kind of friend God wanted me to be, and asking God to humble me and reveal things about me that displeased Him.  I also asked Him to prune from me that which was not bearing fruit.  I asked Him for patience, strength and endurance, and I asked Him to help me trust in His timing.  Once I REALLY started making every effort to be the person I knew He wanted me to be, He started affirming that and blessing it.  It wasn’t too long after that that He made Mike (my husband) want me to leave my job, and that was my sign.  The week I left KSCS, I booked SIX speaking engagements! Talk about affirmation!
 
Third, “For YOU are the God who saves me.” – Without ever meaning to, we put many, many other gods before our God.  Money, possessions, status/popularity, the opinions of others, our husbands, our kids, youth/beauty, etc.  All of them are gods – none of them can save us.  Retirement funds disappear in a bad market, jobs can be lost, people can turn on us, kids can disappoint us and eventually move out anyway, youth is brief and beauty doesn’t last.  The opinions of others can’t be controlled, and status is really a mirage.  We need to ALWAYS be asking ourselves where God is in our list of importance.  If He is where He should be, then we are spending plenty of time in our Bibles, talking to Him all throughout the day – asking if “THIS is the way to go, do You want me to do THAT, should I say THIS, please help me not to get frustrated, tell me how to respond,” and so on and so forth.  God is the ONLY god that saves us.
 
And finally, “All day long I put my hope in You.” – Are we really doing that?  Or are we putting our hope in other things?
 
When we pray Scripture out loud, we need to mean what it says – we need to be in a place where it really reflects how we feel.  And if you aren’t there yet, if there are parts of your life that you haven’t yet surrendered to God, confess it, and ask Him to help you surrender it.  One of the things I pray OFTEN is for God to make me sincere.  “Humble me, God, and if that is not the sincere wish of my heart, then change my heart and make it sincere!  Prune me God, and if that is not what I want, change my heart to make me want it!  I love You God, but help me to love and trust You more!”
 
One last thing – it is WELL within the nature of God to let us be very uncomfortable in our circumstances before bringing about change.  Again, look at Genesis 2:20-22 – God allowed Adam to see every PAIR of animal, noticing his singleness, before He gave Him a mate.  In Acts 7:54 – 8:4, God used the stoning of Stephen to terrify the believers into fleeing Jerusalem, and they preached the Gospel everywhere they went.  And many were saved.  That was the beginning of the expansion of the church.  I was unhappy in my job for three years before God took me out of it, and His timing was perfect, because I had 100% certainty that it was what I was supposed to do.  And He also used my job to launch a speaking ministry.
 
Be listening for His voice.  He is not a God who plays games with us.  He WANTS to be found.  He wants to be heard.  But He will seldom shout over the noise of our lives.  We are in a far, far better position to hear Him when we seek Him in the silence and solitude.  He does have a plan for your life, but it absolutely requires your cooperation and your participation. 
 
I hope this helps you, Jason.  Keep me posted and I will pray that He expedites His will for your life.
 
May God bless you richly and abundantly!!!
Rebecca