Before I came to work at Dave Ramsey‘s, I spent five extremely long years running logistics. It was a job I hated because it wasn’t uncommon for me to get a call at 2 a.m. – on my brick of a company cell phone that nearly melted my ear off – and have to work for a couple of hours.
Side note: If you call me on the phone, I have a tendency to try to hang up quickly. Those years ruined me for talking on the phone, period. Anyway, it was a frustrating time in my life. I volunteered with a youth ministry, which was considerably more exciting, and all of the youth leaders I worked with knew I hated my job. They would tell me to get my resume out there! But at the time, I didn’t feel released by God.
Finally, I felt as though I was supposed to put together my resume. I asked the only person I knew who had a computer at home if she would work on it with me. We spent an hour putting it together. When she hit the print button and it started to print out, I said, “I’m so sorry. I’m not supposed to send that out.” I had no clue why; I just knew I wasn’t released.
Then one day, I had an amazing conversation with one of the gals in the office. She had completely turned her back on God and swore there couldn’t be one. Why? Because her son-in-law killed her grandson a few years earlier. I had no clue. I don’t even remember how it came up, but we grabbed a back office and spent the next two hours discussing God. At the end, we prayed together and she received God back as her Lord.
When I got back to my desk, my phone rang. It was a guy who used to work for me, and he said, “Hey, this company contacted me and they know who you are. They want to hire you for a lot more money. Do you have a resume?” Are you kidding? Did that just happen?
You see, there are a lot of things we do in business because of our experience or because our gut tells us to. But sometimes, you just might find Someone Else is trying to guide and direct you. Yes, it might be vague and confusing, but listen, you just never know what a little patience will do in your life… or someone else’s.
Sometimes the hardest thing is to wait patiently on something or someone. But many times we find that waiting brings the sweetest results. One of my life verses is Psalms 62:5: “My soul, wait silently on God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”
Have you ever been frustrated with a situation that wasn’t moving, only to find it turned out better than you expected later on?
Thank you Chris. I wish you and I both had the time for me to tell you how much I needed to read this.
James