I used to own a little boutique clothing store on Balboa Island in Newport Beach. Every morning I would park in a parking lot and walking over the bridge to work, quietly observing the calm waves of the harbor. It was a beautiful little walk that always made me appreciate God’s beauty.
But once I got inside the store, it meant a lot of long and lonely hours sitting behind the cash register. The summer months were full and bustling, but when it came to early winter and spring, there wasn’t a person in sight! I spent a lot of time sitting there, talking to God…wondering what I was doing with my life.
At one point, I remember thinking; “Is this really where God wants me to be?”
I was a young professional and didn’t have a family yet, but I remember praying this prayer, “Lord, I know I don’t have kids yet…but if you bless me with a family, how will I raise them and still be at this store every single day? How will I work 60 hours a week and still see my family?”
I began to see that this life I had pursued wasn’t exactly the life where I could grow into what I felt God was calling me to have one day — a family.
This all reminded me of what Pastor Jason shared on Sunday…this idea of God having a blue print for us, and it is our job to trace it. We must follow the footsteps of Christ, and as we go about our lives, be earnestly asking the question: Lord, is this your template for me?
I don’t know if you’ve wondered the same thing…maybe you’ve been stuck in a job for many years that feels lifeless and soul-sucking. But like we learned on Sunday, even there we can live out His purpose for us.
It’s not about always feeling “happy” and “fulfilled” in our job, but it is about glorifying God wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
I eventually sold my business and was able to free up my time to pursue having a family — but I can tell you this: it only happened in a miraculous, God-ordained way. He brought the buyer, and He orchestrated the timing. Nothing I could do forced this situation to happen on my own. When He said “go” it was time to go!
I think it is each of our deepest prayers that we express the words Job expressed when, after all his suffering, he said this:
“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10, NKJV)
Whatever the blue print God has for your life, I pray that you are confident enough in Who He is to take the steps of faith and diligently walk that path, even when suffering comes.
He knows your steps, dear friend. He knows that it isn’t easy for you to walk this path. Even Christ cried out in Gethsemane over the path He had to take.
Keep going, and keep remembering that faithful perseverance through testing means you will come out like gold.
But once I got inside the store, it meant a lot of long and lonely hours sitting behind the cash register. The summer months were full and bustling, but when it came to early winter and spring, there wasn’t a person in sight! I spent a lot of time sitting there, talking to God…wondering what I was doing with my life.
At one point, I remember thinking; “Is this really where God wants me to be?”
I was a young professional and didn’t have a family yet, but I remember praying this prayer, “Lord, I know I don’t have kids yet…but if you bless me with a family, how will I raise them and still be at this store every single day? How will I work 60 hours a week and still see my family?”
I began to see that this life I had pursued wasn’t exactly the life where I could grow into what I felt God was calling me to have one day — a family.
This all reminded me of what Pastor Jason shared on Sunday…this idea of God having a blue print for us, and it is our job to trace it. We must follow the footsteps of Christ, and as we go about our lives, be earnestly asking the question: Lord, is this your template for me?
I don’t know if you’ve wondered the same thing…maybe you’ve been stuck in a job for many years that feels lifeless and soul-sucking. But like we learned on Sunday, even there we can live out His purpose for us.
It’s not about always feeling “happy” and “fulfilled” in our job, but it is about glorifying God wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.
I eventually sold my business and was able to free up my time to pursue having a family — but I can tell you this: it only happened in a miraculous, God-ordained way. He brought the buyer, and He orchestrated the timing. Nothing I could do forced this situation to happen on my own. When He said “go” it was time to go!
I think it is each of our deepest prayers that we express the words Job expressed when, after all his suffering, he said this:
“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10, NKJV)
Whatever the blue print God has for your life, I pray that you are confident enough in Who He is to take the steps of faith and diligently walk that path, even when suffering comes.
He knows your steps, dear friend. He knows that it isn’t easy for you to walk this path. Even Christ cried out in Gethsemane over the path He had to take.
Keep going, and keep remembering that faithful perseverance through testing means you will come out like gold.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.