Sunday, March 2, 2014

Words to Live By

The Right Perspective
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:2-8
Can I just start off by saying how freaked out I am with the fact that it's already March?! It is blowing my mind that we're already three months into the new year and have to wait nine more months until Christmas (sob). This past week or so has been somewhat eventful for me and also a test of my faith, which brings me to today's post.
I have been praying lately for God to give me opportunities to listen to His will in my life. I prayed that and two days later (I kid you not! TWO days later) I was informed of a new job position that might become available in the near future that is also full time. Why is that such a big deal, or how is that even a test of faith? You see, I work two jobs. I have been at one for going on 3 years now and the other for only seven months, so when I was told about this other position I started to freak out a little bit. How could I leave my newest job after only having worked there for such a short amount of time? What would my boss think? What would my coworkers say about me? How could I leave my other job after being there for so long? What if my coworkers get mad at me for leaving? The list of what I thought goes on and on. You see, I am the definition of a people-pleaser. I will do or not do something to avoid other people being "mad" at me or feeling "disappointed" in me. It's terrible! So after I heard the news of this other job possibility, I panicked. I prayed about it immediately and came upon the verse shown above and had one of those a-ha moments: with my track record of avoiding any sort of change so as not to rock the boat and "upset" other people, maybe this was the perfect opportunity for me to heed this God-given moment and take that leap of faith (even though I felt scared senseless.) 
And so, I put on my big girl pants and let both of my bosses know that if this job proposition does come to pass that I am going to take it. And guess what? The world didn't end! Neither of them told me that they hated me for me wanting to better my life! This was such a big deal for me and I felt so pumped with the fact that I made my final decision and felt like I was listening to what the Lord was wanting me to do. But wait, what about the part of these verses that talks about "faith producing patience"? Oh, we'll get to that. That is another one of my laundry list of flaws is that I am the complete opposite of patient. After I made the decision in my head that if this new job ever happens that I was going to take it, I sat there waiting. I made my choice, then a week went by and I hadn't heard of any progress of this new job coming into culmination and I got mad! I thought, "Ok God, I listened to what You told me to do and nothing's happening! Come on and let's get this show on the road!" I had completely forgotten about what's probably the most important part of these verses, and that is the part about patience coming from the testing of one's faith so that we "may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Talk about feeling dumb when I expected God to just snap His fingers and make all of my wishes come true the moment I wanted them like He's some sort of genie. That's not how life works and that's certainly not how God works. Yes, it is so very crucial for us to listen to what God wants us to do, but it's just as important that after we make that decision to listen to His commands that we wait for His perfect timing IN PATIENCE. 
2014 is definitely turning out to be a year of excitement and of potential, untapped opportunity. Just always remember that after you listen to God's voice that you wait patiently for His wonderful timing because you never know what He may have in store for you.

With Love,
Kelsey

4 comments:

  1. Awe, I'm glad that things are working for you and that such a wonderful opportunity is coming your way…patience is ket, isn't it?!

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    1. It most certainly is, Meagan! I'm excited for what lies ahead :)

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