A matter of surrender

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

My life recently transformed through the shifting sands of a newly assigned workplace position. In the midst of this upheaval, I was stunned to receive a “Welcome to the team” email issued to me and six of my teammates by a woman I’d never heard of before. No explanation of my role had yet been provided. While the introduction wasn’t distributed to me, alone, my colleagues weren’t placed in new positions. They were simply allocated a new manager. For me, switching from being an administrative assistant to a specialized banker would be a bit more dramatic. 

I was overwhelmed by the reality before me. Everyone on my team had chosen to be bankers and had spent countless years honing their professions. Their titles evidenced the experience in their roles. I stood alone in a group of experts. I felt like a toddler dropped in a room of neurophysicists. How could I possibly thrive with so little understanding of the language, education, and skill-sets of my peers?

The background of this evolution is detailed in my last few blog posts. I had just finished writing my message,  “Haven’t seen it, but I believe it” the day before this “welcome” message was received. It’s hard to feel happy about something so life-altering and unchosen.

I know something good is coming, I thought. Maybe one of the jobs I applied for has reached out to me. 

After checking my personal email, my eye immediately latched onto the message with a staffing address. “We appreciate your interest,” the communication began, “however..we are pursuing candidates with skills and experience which more closely match the position.” 

Rejected. I was being rejected from the job that I’d prayed so hard for – the position with an HR angel named Lucy who had helped me submit my cover letter to the hiring manager. Lucy had told me she had a feeling I “was the one” for this position. I had been so hopeful, so encouraged, so confident that a positive outcome would follow my application. My credentials were a perfect match for the role. How had this happened?

I know in my heart that God is in control. I surrender each and every step of my existence to Him, and my work-life is no exception. From the first call that altered my employment, I have prayed for my heavenly Father to lead me. Should I accept the new role my employer was offering, or should I start searching for another job again? I felt strongly that I should search elsewhere, and the reopening of the position I’d formerly applied to seemed evidence of God’s prompting. 

The reality of my workplace inadequacies and the disappointment of this rejection combined to deliver a gut punch that left me staggering. What am I doing? I thought. Where am I going in life? 

After phoning my brother to express my disappointment, I ended my call with a self-reminder that I’d written about trusting God in my last blog post. “I can’t stop believing what I wrote yesterday,” I told him. “God is in control. I know that. I’m just disappointed.” 

As the day progressed, I fully surrendered to the loss of the position I’d long hoped for. I always pray that God will shut the door if something is not right for me. This rejection seemed strong evidence that I should move on. By late afternoon, I had fully exchanged my desires for my Creator’s and began crafting a new cover letter for another position. 

That’s when my phone rang. 

The voice on the end of the line was from the organization I had applied to – the one I had been excluded from. “I’m calling to see if you’re available this Thursday at 4:30,” the voice detailed, without further explanation. 

“This is for…?” I inquired.

“Your application for the ___ position,” came the response. 

Without thinking, I retorted, “I was just rejected for that role earlier today.”

“Well, I don’t know who would have ever told you that,” came the response.

I was stunned to the point of disbelief until my mind wrapped around a possible explanation. “I applied for the role last fall and was advised to reapply a few weeks ago,” I quipped. “Perhaps the earlier rejection was for my initial application.” 

“We have a new system,” came the response. “There’s no telling what it will do. I’ll put you down as confirmed for Thursday.”

After affirming the same and thanking the caller, I assured her that she had completely turned my day around. 

“I’m glad,” came her simple reply.

I phoned my brother as soon as I hung up. “I just received an incredible phone call,” I told him before relaying the conversation.  

“Well, isn’t that something?” he laughed. 

It was “something,” indeed. This was an act of divine intervention – an exhilarating reminder that when we surrender to God, He makes the impossible possible. 

I couldn’t help but think of Abraham and his act of submission to God in Genesis 22. When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, Abraham had to feel devastated at the request. Isaac had been a blessing to him and his wife, Sarah, in their old age, and the thought of giving up his son must have been devastating. 

The Bible doesn’t record Abraham’s emotions, but we can only imagine that he must have struggled to submit to this directive. And yet, he still did so. Abraham made the 50-mile trek to the area God directed him to go, taking only wood for the altar fire, two servants, his son, and a donkey. 

Abraham’s commitment is evident when Isaac asks his father where the animal is for their sacrifice. “Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” (V. 8) 

Isaac, too, demonstrated surrender when he willingly allowed his Father to bind his hands and lay down on the altar. (V. 9) It was only when Abraham raised his arm to commence with the sacrifice that the hand of God restrained him. 

“But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ He said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.'” (V. 11-12)

It was then that Abraham saw a ram that God had provided, caught in a nearby bush. (V. 13) How Abraham’s heart must have soared at this gift from his Creator. “So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.” (V. 14)

While I was not asked to make anywhere near the type of sacrifice that Abraham did, I still felt the relief of acceptance and surrender, followed by the joy of my Savior’s endowment. 

I was still glorifying God in these thoughts while sharing the day’s turn of events with a few friends. 

“Sort of like the ram caught in the bushes, eh?” came one response.

“God can change the course of events in the blink of an eye,” I told him. “Despite how painful it may be at the time, we still have to trust Him. No matter what, God is always in control.” 

The Lord will provide. All we have to do is surrender.