Lately I've been dealing with a lot of stress and negativity in my job situation. I won't go into much detail, as I don't want to complain and come across as ungrateful. Because the number one thing I feel towards God for my job is gratitude. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have my current position, nor the wealth of experience and growth that I have gained from it.
The truth stands, however, that it's not where I want to be forever. So something that God has been teaching me through this whole experience is to trust in Him and seek his peace despite a negative situation. I think by now we all know this; life is never going to be a cakewalk. The path I've been called and chosen to walk is most certainly not the easiest one either. (The straight and narrow, you know.)
Even though my current situation is not my picture of the ideal, clearly God has something else that he sees as ideal. Knowing that, I can and do have peace. I can go to work every morning saying, "Thank you God." and go home after I clock out saying "Thank you God." no matter what happened in between.
Putting things into perspective, my "adversity" is really nothing in the grand scheme of things. My life is not being threatened, I'm not being tortured, not like the great martyrs from biblical times, nor those in current days being killed in Christ's name.
When I bring my situation into that light, I am more easily able to let God's peace settle on me and know that this time is but a breath of wind. It's just another lick of fire I'm feeling from the furnace as all the dross is being burned away.
Whatever you're facing or whatever situation you're in that you may not like, know that God has a bigger plan. I'm sorry to sound cliche with that, but I can't help it, it's the truth! I always have this picture in my mind of someone playing with Play-doh. Let's say it's me. With my fictional Play-doh I decide to sculpt a little unicorn because I love unicorns. Suddenly the unicorn turns to me and says, "NO! I want to be a Pegasus! Give me wings!" and I say, "Psh, no! You're going to be a unicorn because I made you that way, and you're not going to fly!" The unicorn is angry because it can't have what it wants. But the reason I didn't give the unicorn wings is because if it tried to fly it would fall and squish itself.
And God is our master potter and we are his clay. (Isaiah 64:8) If we aren't a certain way or don't have what we want, it's because God knows better than we do. He is the one who made me, who am I to complain?
This is not to say that I'm going to stay in an unhappy situation because I haven't been magically pulled out of it. No, I am certainly doing what I can to change my situation. Lord willing something will give soon, but until the day comes when that next step can be taken, I will continue to put my best foot forward. I will go in every day with the best smile that I can muster on my face and a hard working attitude towards every task given to me.
Saturday's Scripture
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 1:6-7
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