Last year was a major learning curve for me. I took a leap of faith to try something new, and while it wasn’t financially successful, I learned so much during the process that I’m willing to continue. This year, it seems God is still taking me to school because I’m feeling the tug to learn about something new this year. It’s a subject that many of us struggle with because we’ve experienced many instances of the opposite, but here I am being asked to do what feels impossible.
God is asking me to trust the process both spiritually and in business.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV)
When it comes to work, I’ve been inclined to trust my skills, experience, and coworkers. After experiencing some situations in which my trust was violated, I now mostly trust my skills and experience, and it stops right there. Notice that the verse doesn’t say to just trust God with our souls. We are to trust Him in everything. Take a deep breath and get ready for the plunge.
Trust has also been an issue for me because of my nature to control things. I know what I’m capable of and what I can tolerate, and I often make decisions around that knowledge. However, working for myself is outside my realm of knowledge, and there are days when it feels impossible. On those days, I remind myself that God is the God of the impossible, and I need to trust Him to guide me through the process. This is a true stretch of my faith because I kept trying to box God into my idea of a career. Now He’s asked me to step out into the unknown where I have questions – so many questions.
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, NKJV)
While Jesus was discussing salvation with His disciples, He didn’t limit God to just saving people. He specifically said that all things were possible with God. As I reached the end of last year, I began praying about whether it was time to try things my way. It was almost like God asked from my soul, “Really? I got you this far into the process, and you’re giving up now? You can’t keep trusting me just a little longer so I can answer and fulfill your prayers?”
So here I am trusting God in the New Year to lead and guide me where I need to go, and I’ve quickly realized something. He made things work out last year, and this year, as I’ve moved my office setup (again), I realized that He’s been planning things for a while. I need multiple monitors for an efficient office setup, and in 2020, I purchased a couple of monitors to work from home during COVID. I needed a hub so I could use those multiple monitors with my laptop, and it just so happened that I reviewed a hub and got to keep it for a free a couple of years ago. I also reviewed a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I happen to still have a wired keyboard as well. Slowly but surely, I realized that many of the things I needed were already in place, and I hadn’t been planning on working for myself when I got all of those items.
It took me a bit to realize that God had been working for a few years already to set up what I’m doing now. He’s been putting little pieces together here and there this whole time in anticipation of me trusting Him enough to let the process happen. Already this year, when I start to worry about something, I catch myself. I say little prayer, “I trust You, God.” Then I carry on with what I need to do. Sometimes, the problem is taken care of quite quickly, but even when it isn’t, I find that I’m less stressed because I’m trusting God to show me what to do. He isn’t asking me to sit down and wait for someone else to do the work. He’s asking me to trust His guidance as I do the work. It isn’t about laziness. It’s about trusting God to lead me on the right career path, and I find my faith-based optimism to be very helpful.
When God expects us to step out and do something new, it can be intimidating and overwhelming. This is a true test of how much we really trust God, and believe me when I say I haven’t always been the best at trusting Him. Sometimes, God has to drag me kicking and screaming into a situation in which the only answer is to trust Him. This year, I want to walk willingly where He would have me go because I want to trust His process. If you’re up against the question of which direction to turn, ask God to open the right doors and close the wrong ones so you can stay on the path He intends for you to travel. Let’s build those muscles of faith and trust in our Father God in 2025.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, NKJV)
All Things Subject to Change 