Positioning Yourself for a Blessing…Let Him Be Your Door Keeper
You see…the hard part is waiting on Gods timing and trusting that He has a perfect plan and a purpose for each of our lives. I recently got married and moved to a different town. I felt led to leave my current teaching job and search for one closer to my new location with my husband. I will be honest, this was not an easy task. I thought I was a great teacher, so great that people should have been knocking my door down to have me as a teacher in their school. There was no doubt in my mind that I would land a full time job before the current school year was out. I envisioned myself resting comfortably over the summer knowing I had a job for the next school year. I thought I was confident, but my attitude reeked of pride and I was the last to know. My pride had me skimming over part-time jobs and jobs that I had to drive over 30 miles. I was praying for the job I “deserved.” I had to learn a lesson of humility and it didn’t happen overnight. No, it took me all summer.
I woke up every morning, buried my heart into my Bible, listened, and prayed for direction. My phone was not ringing. The beginning of school got closer and I was beginning to lose hope. I felt desperate. I started looking at jobs outside of my field and had no idea what I was going to do. About that time, I finally lost the chip on my shoulder and realized a half-time position is better than nothing and I would drive where ever it was that God wanted me to go. It took me all summer to surrender to His will and let Him open the doors to my future. I did not know it at the time, but my family had been praying for encouragement. That week, I received a call from a High School and scheduled an interview. It wasn’t my first choice, but I decided I would joyfully go in the direction that He would lead me. The interview went great, if I recall correctly the interviewer said “we would love to have you on board.” I should have been really excited, but I felt fear. I was afraid they would call, I would accept the job, and it wouldn’t be God’s will.
My mother-in-law was pretty awesome throughout this process. She stood in my corner, pressed in through prayer, and offered encouraging words when I needed them. We were chatting after the interview and I was expressing my fears. Something she said made it click. How can I be in fear and also totally trust God has my future in His hands? It was simple. I wasn’t trusting. It was then that I realized, if I am truly trusting that God would open the doors (opportunities) that He wanted me to walk through and close the doors He did not, then whatever happened with the job would in fact be in His will. I was blown away at this revelation. I suddenly felt free. In that moment, I wasn’t weighted down by fear anymore. My prayer became, “Lord please be my door keeper and give me the wisdom and courage to go where you want me to go.”
The call came on Friday. I didn’t get the job. I cried, but they were tears of joy because I knew that God had closed that door. My heart was filled with excitement because I knew God still had a plan for me. About a week later, a part-time job opened up, it was 20 minutes from my house and was a top ranking school. I emailed the principal, had an interview, and was hired within 3 days. I had one weekend before the first day of school. It wasn’t full-time, but it was something and I was trusting this was the door I was supposed to walk through. Eight days into the school year, one of the other art teachers left and they offered that full-time position to me!!! Let me pause right here and marvel in the journey I was taken on. Had I stayed in my prideful, too good for a part-time position attitude, I never would have positioned myself for God to bless me. It is rare that a teacher, an art teacher at that, leaves a position during the school year. God being who He is knew exactly where I needed to be at the right time. Isaiah 40:31 says that those “who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
As difficult as it was, I am thankful for that waiting experience. The learning didn’t come from easily getting a job and sitting comfortably over the summer. Waiting has valuable lessons. Romans 5:3-4 reminds us to “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” My question is, what are you waiting for? What does God want to show you? And what blessings does He have in store for you? Remember to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
