God's Plan and Protection

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I do not know where you are at as you are reading this right now.  I do not know what you are going through.  I do not know what you are struggling with.  But, I want to take a moment to share a story with you about God's plan and protection for our lives. I hope that wherever you are, whatever you are going through, and whatever you are struggling with that you can relate to this.

To be completely honest, I have hated my job for a long time.  I have been terribly unhappy because of the management and some of the coworkers.  The schools curriculum is developmentally inappropriate.  It has been very hard for me to abide by the curriculum guidelines and do what I have learned as appropriate through my many hours of school.  It has been a challenging position to be in over all for a majority of my time there. 

God has been asking me to stay for a long time.  I do not know why He wanted me to stay for so long.  But, part of being a Christian and following Jesus is doing things when asked and not know why or what will happen because of it.  I believed that Jesus felt my pain.  He came on this Earth to feel all of the pains we could encounter.  It was a daily struggle to stay there because He asked me to. There were many times that I wanted to leave, but God wasn't ready for me to leave yet.

Since I am being honest, it truly frustrated me at times to know that God wanted me there, but I was miserable.  I would cry on my lunch break, cry at work, and cry on the way home.  I would take my frustration out on my class which was terrible.  I would yell at God.  "WHY AM DO YOU WANT ME HERE?  I AM IN SO MUCH PAIN!  GET ME OUT!"  Instead of getting me out, He would give me strength to stay.  I learned how to pray in a different way.  I began to pray for strength and understanding instead of a way out. 

Last Thursday was the icing on the cake.  To make a very long story short, I was written up for taking too much time off after my grandpa passing.  The way that the management treated me was inappropriate.  The way that the management spoke to me was inappropriate.  I did not think that I was going to be able to handle it anymore. 

I spent much time in prayer.  I knew that I wanted to leave, but I wanted to make sure that God wanted me to leave.  For the first time, I had peace about leaving.  God was ready for me to leave.  Last weekend, I typed my two weeks notice.  I turned it in on Monday. 

I did not have a job lined up for after my two weeks was up.  I had faith that God would provide a job for me.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans for me, plans to prosper and not to harm.  I took faith in that.  He would provide for me when the time was right.  On Tuesday, I was offered a job doing something that I have wanted to do for a long time paying more than I could have asked for.

The moment that I stopped worrying about what would happen, He provided.  Part of the reason I had not left earlier was because I could not find a job. But the moment that I let God work it out and not try to find a job on my own, He provided me with one.  Not only did He provide me with a job, He provided me with one that I could not have asked to be any better. 

So, what can you take away from this?  God has a plan for your life.  God will never leave your side.  Have faith in Him.  Trust in Him.  You may not know what tomorrow, next week, next month or next year holds, but He does.  He has every moment of your every day planned out.  He knows the number of hairs on your body (Matthew 10:39).  Take heart that He has no plan to harm you (Jeremiah 29:11).  I know the road may seem dark and long, but in the end, it is amazing!  You will be able to see His glory in more ways than you could imagine. 

Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55:22