Confirmation

Yesterday, as I was driving to work I prayed.  It was the fifth day at my new job.  It had been a week of adjusting to working again, an exhausting week.  I felt hopeful about my new job.  I liked the people and the work did not seem overwhelming.  I knew that this was the job God had provided for me.  But...the perfectionist part of me, the part of me that loves money, the hoarding part of me had lingering doubts all week.  There were jobs out there that would pay me more money, some significantly more.  In recent years, I would go for the most money.  I don’t like taking steps backward in salary.

It should be an open and shut case, right?  THIS is the job God provided.  God IS my provider.  This is the salary He is giving me now.  And it is NOT a bad salary.  It is just less than before.  So, what is my problem?  Trust and surrender?  Hmmm.

So, on my way to work yesterday, I prayed.  I thought about what I committed to on January 1^st, that this would be my “year of words.”  …that I would take God at His word.  …that I would speak blessings and not curses.  And that I would trust Him and believe Him for more than I could ever ask or hope for.  I prayed to that end.  I asked Him to make it an extraordinary day.  I wanted to see that my presence there mattered and that it was God-designed.

It was a pleasant day.  I went to lunch with the two Sales Coordinators who report to me and the VP of our division, who treated us to lunch.  We went to Two On Earth Bakery in Pineville, which I had always wanted to try.  It is owned and operated by a couple from my church. (Good food and nice cozy atmosphere)

Throughout the day, I continued to make progress in my learning curve.  I took a few minutes exploring the company’s intranet (internal website).  There were archived company newsletters on the intranet.  I read through several of them.  That is when my day became extraordinary…

The man who hired me is the CFO of our parent company.  I will report to the VP of Finance at my company (he is being hired now), who will report to the CFO of our parent company, therefore the man who hired me is two levels above me in hierarchy.  In perusing the company newsletters, I found that our CFO was named CFO of the year by The Charlotte Business Journal in 2012 for Large Private Company.

In the company newsletter, he humbly thanked everyone who had helped in his success.  He ended his comments by thanking his family by name and then wrote:

"Finally, these things do not happen without divine intervention.  I am a man of deep faith.  I stand humbled in the presence of God.  May God be glorified through his Son, Jesus Christ."

I’d say it became an extraordinary day!

This is particularly significant for me because when I was unemployed, I met with a recruiter who asked me to remove my Religion degree from my resume.  I have a BA in Accounting and Religion.   This recruiter told me that potential employers could be offended by my Religion degree…they could make assumptions about me (his example was that I would talk about my faith too much and that I would try to convert the office to my way of thinking.)  At first, I actually considered it.  Did it matter if my resume said that I had a Religion degree or not?  I certainly didn't want anyone to make wrong assumptions about me.  As much as I tried to rationalize it in order to please the recruiter, I could not.  I decided to present the facts as they are.  Not only that, but I am proud of my double-major.  I think it shows that I have a well-balanced left and right brain.  Furthermore, I do not want to work for an employer who would be offended by my faith.  And if I interview with a person of faith, perhaps they will question me about it and be drawn to me because of it.    

I went to the Charlotte Business Journal Site and I discovered another surprise.  The man who I worked for at two former companies (and one who I used as a reference for this job) was named The Charlotte Business Journal’s CFO of the year 2012 for Small Private Company.  Both men are humble Christians.  I wonder if they recognized each other when one called the other for a reference for me?  If they did, they did not tell me.

Do I need any more proof or confirmation that this is the position that God has for me at this time in my life?  I shouldn't.  But He is so patient with me and He is pursuing me so kindly...that He put one more nail in the coffin of my doubt.

When I awoke this morning to my phone alarm, I read today’s Daily Bible Devotion App for Saturday, March 9^th AM:

You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. (NLT) Psalm 4:7

Have you ever thought about having an abundance of money?  We seem to think it solves all problems, but in reality it doesn’t bring lasting joy.  Your problems only change.  It is possible to have a greater joy which leads to a changing of your mind.  A relationship with God is a greater blessing than any amount of money.  Where does your joy come from and is it abundant?

Bring it on, Lord, bring on the abundance of joy.  I will trust You for more than I could ask or hope for.  You know what I need.

At the end of my time in Italy, I wrote that He is Enough...I was reminded over and over again that He gives me what I need.  My need is the size of a cup compared to His Ocean of provision.  Now, I will say and believe this in a new way...He is More than Enough.  My cup is not just filled...my cup overflows. 

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

    His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

    Great is Your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion:

    therefore I will wait for Him."  Lamentations 3:22-24