Hope and Trust

Hour after hour, checked fund after checked fund (that's what I do a lot of the day), anticipation escalated. I had run nearly every possible scenario through my head, deciding it safer to think about how I would respond when I was told I didn't get the job.

Three o'clock - no phone calls. Four o'clock - nothing. Emotions of rejection began to threaten my soul, but I still managed to pray and thank God for His goodness, that He had a plan no matter what happened, and that I could trust Him. That helped a lot.

When I received an email from my boss around 4:05 p.m. asking if I'd have time to meet, I began to calculate the odds of this being good news. The fact that my boss was not directly related to the interview process made it pretty clear, though. I would not be promoted.

My manager - his name is Evan - is a man I deeply respect and look up to. The two of us casually walked into the small conference room, closed the door, and sat down. As he sat, he began to speak with a sheepish smile saying, "Unfotunately I can't tell you that you got the job-- they decided to go with someone else."

I've never been turned down for a job since I started with this company (I had been 2 for 2), so I took a second to take in the new experience of not being "the chosen one". Ironically, I had jokingly mentioned to my wife earlier in the day how I'd always wondered what it was like to not get picked. Now was my opportunity to be tested in this.

The bad news pretty much stopped there, though. What followed was an incredible series of blessings. First, Evan debriefed my on the feedback sent by Kurt, the manager who interviewed me (and who happened to be my first manager before he was promoted). The feedback was thorough and very encouraging, filled with helpful tips and comments. Something tells me that managers don't usually do that for "the rejects" -- and I felt pretty honored.

Second, I was able to talk about my thoughts on the interview process with Evan and benefit from his own comments and encouragements.

Third, given the fact that I wasn't going anywhere, we began to shift our focus to the situation at hand with our current team, and I finally was able to articulate some of my concerns with the leadership. Evan shared what he could and we had a great dialog, which was exceedingly helpful and informative.

All and all, know that I am filled with great joy and encouragement. Thank you for your prayers and support... I feel 100 percent at peace. Well, maybe 90 percent, but just give me a good night's sleep and some time in prayer with God, and I should be right up there.

The Day of Crossroads

I interviewed for a management position two days ago where I work. Today I find out whether I am the chosen one.

It is almost eerie how I ended up in this situation, applying for a position I previously never imagined myself working in until I was at least 30 years old. But rough times bring strange and unforeseen opportunities, and it almost feels like God has been preparing me for this moment from first day I started with the company. Every technical challenge, every clashing with fellow employees, every opportunity to show mercy and grace, every experience in witnessing good leadership and bad leadership... all of these things have shaped me profoundly. It has become clear to me that I am here (at my occupation) to glorify God, to show how infinitely precious He is. My prayer is that God would work through me in such a way that people will look at my deeds and desire to praise God. I want Jesus to be made much of, to do things that could only be done through hope in Jesus Christ, not in the hopes of world.

Whatever the decision is, I will praise the Lord, who knows all things and is Holy and good. I'm simply excited to move on, be it my in current position or the new path of management. Either way, God has appointed me to be a leader, to demonstrate the redemptive power of Jesus, to fight for the redemption of the workplace, to love good and to hate evil. It doesn't matter what position I'm in, the job is always the same: to glorify God and demonstrate how precious Jesus is-- more precious than wealthy, prosperity, respect, or anything else this world has to offer.

Thank you, Lord, for life's struggles, for opportunities to realize how dependent we are on you for everything. Show the world how awesome you are.

Don't Desire Wealth

Don't Desire Wealth
October 8, 2008 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

I can smell it. It’s like toast or steak or brownies. It doesn’t just draw our desire, it creates desire. Deep drops in the stock market make many people salivate. They know it will rebound. They are sitting on cash. By year’s end their pile could ride the recovery to riches.

For such people I have a word from God. The word is: Don’t desire to be rich. It will kill you. And in a world like ours many will probably perish with you. Paul’s language is more graphic than mine:

There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1Timothy 6:6-10)

Lecrae's new album: Rebel

This is an album that's going right on my wishlist. It seems that one of the main themes of this album "Rebel" is to proclaim that the only real rebellion left is to rebel against our messed up culture and worldly principles-- greed, pornography, covetousness, selfish ambition, adulterous and broken marriages, laziness... wow. Here is the opening track:





Watch interview on Resurgence.com

You can buy the CD on Amazon

Singing to God

Just yesterday I extremely encouraged by a message from Bob Kauflin (author of Worship Matters and worship leader) on the topic of communicating to God through singing. This was one of many outstanding messages presented at the 2008 Desiring God National Conference. Here is the promo video by John Piper, followed by a link to the actual message.



Watch the video