Juanita’s employer furloughed her earlier this year. It’s a good job. She enjoyed it, it paid well, and it offered future growth opportunities. Taking a few months off from a job she loved was difficult.
However, she just received a call to come back to work. It’s been both good news and bad news.
The good news? She’ll be working again. The bad news is she’ll be bringing less money home. The company’s volume is lower, so they’re reducing her hours.
And, to keep the business viable, the owners instituted a 5% pay cut for everyone. Returning to work, she feels like she’s not moving forward—she’s going backward!
She doesn’t just want to get back to where she was. She wants to move ahead.
When I began my career, I knew early on that I wanted to be in the top position. In my profession, that meant being Vice President of Human Resources. In my mind, when I achieved that, I would have “made it.”
But at 22, when I was starting, it seemed like it would take forever. I wanted to reach the top now. I didn’t want to wait, but I had to gain experience first. I could only take one step at a time.
I often forget that life is a journey, not a sprint. I’m guilty of wanting to move too quickly, always sprinting through life to my next destination. If I could take multiple steps (instead of one step at a time), I would!
Yet we each travel a unique road in life. On that road, we will have good days, weeks, months, and even years when everything is going well.
In those seasons, we feel good and might even say, “God, I got this. You can go help someone who really needs Your help.”
But we will also have troubles, unexpected twists, turns, valleys, and potholes. Usually, that’s when we say, “Help! God, where are you?”
We often think we could or should have done something to prevent them, but we can’t.
Things just happen in this sinful world.
Juanita is experiencing one of those troubling times in life. Her skills and abilities, which are many, couldn’t prevent hard times from coming. First, she experienced a time without an income. Now, she’ll have a smaller salary, and she doesn’t know for how long.
In those difficult times, the most important question is: Where should you put your trust? In God, or yourself?
I often joke with people that I wish the Lord’s prayer said, “Give us this day our quarterly or semi-annual bread.” I like to see the future.
But Jesus didn’t say that for a reason. God wants us to put our trust in Him and take life one day at a time.
If you’re in a position like Juanita’s, do the best work you can despite the situation. Trust God He’ll take care of the challenges you face.
I like Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Walking one step at a time with God is like walking in the dark woods with a lamp. The lamp lights the way and shows you where to take the next step. Take the lamp away, and you have no clue how to make it.
Focus on the next step. Do it well and trust in God. I’m confident He’ll show you the way.
