God's Provision

I lost my job a few weeks back.

Well, I didn't lose my job. I know exactly where it is.

But every time I go there, someone else is doing it.

Anyway, the recent loss of employment was largely the reason for the suspension of my "presidential campaign" and the reduction in posts. It was very sudden and unexpected - coupled with the fact it was a very new job was very shocking for my family and me. A victem of the times, and I thought I was invulnerable.

I haven't taken two weeks off back to back since I was, oh, 17 years old. For the first time in my life I didn't know what I was going to do on Monday. And for a 55+hour a week workaholic, this was a living nightmare.

And then God showed up.

Of course He was there the whole time. But it was through this traumatic experience that my eyes were reopened to His great provision. I was reminded, as in Ps23, that he provides all we need, and penny for penny that was true. I was taught that I had developed quite an arrogance about me regarding my God-given abilities that I was no longer giving Him credit for. There's nothing quite so humbling as having a prestigious job title one week, and standing in line for unemployment the next.

My wife has stood by me like a rock. The kids never blinked regarding their faith in God and their dad. My mom kept me well-fed and in good company. And the outpouring of support from our church, family and friends has been stunning to us. Someone even anoymously paid for me to attend a retreat at church.

I am actually grateful now that this all occured - it has made me (I hope) a better human being, because I've become so much more reliant on God the provider. It opened our eyes to our wants versus our needs - and how we'd gotten to a place of spending unnecessarily simply because we could. It also opened our eyes to the needs of others, something we'd become far too smug about. God replaced fear with faith, doubt with promise, stress with comfort, and pride with humility.

I have now been blessed with a new position, far more suitable to my abilities and interests, and only five minutes from home. I can't WAIT to get started!!!

So I'm sitting here now, stunned with how cool God is, to replace something good with something better, and for allowing me to travel the desert for just a little while. It has changed me for sure.

And that's how cool God is.