Just out of Bible college, diploma in hand, I was in desperate need of a job. I prepared a stack of rÈsumÈs and dropped them in the mail, hoping for the best. From those inquiries came a handful of interviews. For the meetings I wore a coat and tie, combed my hair, and did my best to present myself as the perfect hire. Yet even though I thought I came across as professional, I was consistently rejected.
At first I chalked it up to inexperience. “Maybe I wore too much cologne,” I wondered. But snub after snub changed my outlook, and it became more difficult to deal with the repudiation; I began to doubt my abilities and my calling. “Am I really cut out to do this?” I asked myself. The constant setbacks almost became too much to bear. But I knew God was faithful, and I became even more committed to my job search.
In Judges 13 we read about a man named Manoah. He and his wife were unable to have a child. In ancient times, having children was seen as a sign of God’s blessing on your life. Therefore, the couple’s inability to have children was not only a personal frustration but it might also have made them doubt whether God cared about them at all.
Then Manoah and his wife were visited by an angel of God who assured them God was not only aware of their situation, but that they would eventually give birth to a son who would become a leader of God’s people. This promise made the couple even more committed to the Lord as they were assured that he would provide for them.
Even though I was turned down from numerous ministry positions, I eventually found employment, and now I’m at the perfect place for me. Actually, God used those rejections to make me an even more devoted worker for him. Are you despondent because of non-stop letdowns? Know that God is faithful and trust that he can turn your disappointment into joy. |L
Steve Carr is the teaching minister at Echo Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife Kelly have one daughter, Kaelyn.
