More than twelve years ago, my ministry partners and I ran a career transition initiative to help people who were out of work. During that time we befriended a great guy who was in the process of being downsized from his position building electrical panels and wiring heavy machinery in a manufacturing environment. He came to our meetings each week and was diligent working on a new resume and doing his best to find a new position. After posting his new resume on the internet, he followed through with each lead but the economy wasn’t kind to the industry and John finally made the decision to fulfill a lifelong dream – he chose to attend culinary school.
John had the freedom to move across the country to enroll in the school of his choice. Of course we processed all this together and eventually sent him off to the Pacific Northwest where he spent several years attending class and working on his degree. He even did externships at Disney and landed jobs in several other areas of the country – a dude ranch in Wyoming, a place in Idaho and various culinary assignments eventually leading him back to the Indianapolis area. We re-connected and John, who had been a member of our house Bible study before his departure, started studying with us again. For the past several years, he has been cooking for a local assisted living facility.
Then, the unthinkable happened. He received a phone call about an open position, in his old line of work. The inquiring company found the resume that he had put up on the internet 12 years ago! And you know what else? The company is located 5 minutes from John’s home. He accepted the opportunity to go on an interview, passed the mandatory drug screen and was offered a position that he accepted – to start several days after Christmas! All based on a resume that we all put together back in 2003 or so.
Now this doesn’t mean that John doesn’t enjoy his life cooking for a living. And even though it had been a great journey, for him, something feels right about continuing his career in a role that he enjoyed for many years. But John has always sought the Lord in his decisions and here is a case where it took 12 years for John to patiently wait on the Lord. In the meantime, he was committed to doing what he could to make ends meet and explore other ways to secure a livelihood.
Throughout it all, John has been blessed by the opportunity to be by his brother’s side as Frank fought terminal cancer. He also was available to assist his mother during her final illness. None of this would have been possible if John hadn’t done the things that he did to be open to other avenues of work to provide income. I don’t think he would trade these experiences for anything.
So it came as a welcome surprise when he announced tonight that he was starting his new position right after Christmas. What a blessing. The verse for tonight has to do with God’s timing and waiting on the Lord for His provision. We are told, in Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” My encouragement this evening is that God knows what is best for us and it is in His divine timing that His will for our lives will be revealed. My prayer is that you will have the courage to stay the course and be open to the leadings that God provides to you. After all, sometimes we want things to happen immediately – but that’s not the way God works. It is in His perfect timing that things happen – just ask John – 12 years later! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…