Putting it in God's Hands
Putting it in God's Hands
When you’re put to the test, how do you handle it? Do you put your COMPLETE trust and faith in the Lord, or do you search to find the answers on your own? My husband and I were put to a test of faith in November of 2006. My husband went into work one morning, on his day off, for a scheduled meeting, only to find out he was being “let go” or “fired” from a company he had devoted 11 years of his life and was in a fairly high status position. Just a little background; this was in the beginning of November, the holiday season was approaching and I was currently a stay at home mom of a teenager and toddler, working 2 days a weeks, part-time. I was also in my 6th week of pregnancy with our 3rd child and we were waiting to surprise everyone at Christmas with the joyful news. Not to mention, we had not even been in our newly constructed home a year yet. So, of course, we depended on my husband’s income and his benefits.
I will never forget the phone call that Friday morning that brought me to my knees. The news of my husband’s job loss was not only devastating but frightening as well. What were we to do? What would Christmas be like for our children? Would we be able to pay our bills, have enough to eat, or even keep our new home? (Which happens to be our dream home we designed and put our own blood, sweat, and tears in.) Even more, how were we going to support another child in our home, especially with no insurance or job stability? The flood of questions with no answers in sight began to overwhelm us.
Somewhere in the middle of that phone call, I felt this overwhelming sense of calmness. And if you know me at all, calmness is not in my vocabulary. During that phone conversation, I found myself comforting and encouraging my husband, instead of freaking out and begging for answers to what next? You see, my husband is one of these wonderful men who lives by faith and trust in the Lord. He’s always calm, patient, and never worries - or at least he never shows it, a nice compliment for me, being I’m normally the total opposite. I worry and stress over everything as well as anxious over anything. But, this particular day, I could sense my husband’s fears and worries through his tears, while he was telling me he no longer had a job. It was the hardest thing my husband has ever had to face with me. I think even more, he was worried he let me down. A husband’s job is to provide for his family, be the leader of his family, and make sure his family’s needs are met. What a blow to a husband’s ego to have his responsibilities ripped away from him in an instant.
Now, it became my turn. I knew I needed to give my husband all my love, support, and mostly my faith, all that he could ever ask for. I had to show him I had faith in God and that God would provide for us. He would take care of us and we would be okay. Not only because He is God, but because we BELIEVED He is God, and we BELIEVED He would provide. We had no other choice but to put all of our trust and faith in the Lord. We had to put it in His hands because He was the only one who could fix our problem. He was the only one that could lead us down the right path, open the right doors, and provide the opportunities. We had no choice but to BELIEVE. Now I will admit, somedays I had to remind myself that God would answer our prayers and it was tough waiting. But, such a tremendous burden was lifted when I let Him take care of it. When I put my fears, worries, anxieties, and doubts in Him, He gave me a strength I never knew existed. He helped me honor my husband rather than resent him. He gave me an opportunity to go back to work temporarily full time, as well as provided some work for my husband. He gave us courage to face each day, work through any obstacles that came in our path, and He provided. Oh, the Lord provided EVERYTHING we needed. We had prayers from our church family and friends, encouragement, food, money, work, shoulders to cry on, and help beyond our imagination. The more love and support we received, the more confident we became in our faith and the lighter the burden seemed. God’s hands were at work and we got to see it personally work for us. What a blessing!
After 50 days my husband received a phone call we never thought possible. Two days before Christmas a call from a former supervisor at the company he worked for asked him to come in the day after Christmas; they wanted to see if he would take his job back. Now, this particular company, in its 75 years of business had never hired an employee back after being “let go” or “fired”. So, our first reaction was shock, and soon we knew without a doubt that God was behind it all. Not only did my husband get his job back, but he was reinstated in his same position, status, same benefits, vacation, and time, as if he had never left. This of course was absolutely unheard of. On top of that, he gained respect and moved further up the ladder as time went on. It was truly something only God could do.
For the first time in my life, I never questioned God and I put it ALL in his hands – my fears, doubts, worries, and concerns for the unknown were given to God. God strengthened me – my faith and trust in Him, as well as our relationship as husband and wife. We leaned on each other and depended on God.
Jesus knows what little faith we have. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus reminds us we only need to have faith the size of a mustard seed and nothing will be impossible. We know all things are possible with God. We still face many trials and our faith is often tested, but we know that as long as we put it ALL in God’s hands He will provide.
