Passion Defined

Oh how sweet to trust in Jesus!  I am completely through with school now and will be officially graduating with my B.A. in Communications in a little less than two months.  The past several weeks I have been trying to find a full-time job, and it's been a challenge!  In December, I had three interviews with a recruiting company called Clinical One, which is a staffing firm and it recruits and places nurses and other healthcare professionals with hospitals all across the nation.  The job I was interviewing for was that of recruiting specialist and everything was looking very promising with that potential job.  I made it through all the interviews, but I didn't end up getting the job.  I was discouraged, but I realized that if God closed that door, then that means He has something better for me somewhere else!  The challenge is now finding where, and waiting on the Lord for His direction.  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not on our understanding, but to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our paths. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about where God wants me to be, specifically how God can use me the most for His glory with whatever occupation He provides.  I've also been thinking about what my prayer and focus should be during this time of searching.  The Lord has really been convicting me that throughout this job search, I really haven't been coming at it from a perspective that keeps Christ centered.  I've been all about finding a job that pays well so that I can save money and I can move forward with the things in my life that I want to do.  That has been so wrong!  I know that every minute detail of my life is about Christ and that my purpose for everything I do ought to be to bring glory and honor to His Name, but somehow I missed that during my job search.  I knew it in my head, but I hadn't committed to it in my heart. 

This has a been a painful, but rich lesson!  Christ has promised to provide for His children, and I know that promise was given to me when He saved me and made me His own.  I also know that His command to His children is that we shape our desires to be in accordance with His own.  This experience has taught me that God doesn't bless the desires of those who seek something in a way that does not please Him.  He does not bless those who are self-centered!  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  The Lord has graciously revealed this area of pride in my heart and is helping me, through the power of His Spirit, to deal with this sticky part of my heart that needs to be fully released.  I can't say that I'm fully where I need to be, but I'm closer and I know that according to Philippians 1:6 that the Lord will complete what He has begun.  If I can trust Him to keep me forever secure in the palm of His hand for life and salvation, how much more ought I to trust Him with something material and temporal?  Yes, an occupation is a big deal, especially for man who has a vision to be a husband and father someday, but in the light of eternity, a job is simply a part of this life that will one day be of no importance.  I need to be more focused on the bigger picture.  I need to look through different lenses, and seek to see things through Christ's eyes.  My prayer is that my vision in finding a job would be to bring Christ honor and to submit to Him as He leads me.  My own efforts and energies are useless if they are not motivated by a desire to glorify my sovereign King.

It's neat to see how God uses different things at different times to teach you more about Himself and to shape you more into His own image!  My prayer, as I continue seeking where the Lord would have me, is that the source of my motivation would be an earnest desire to honor and worship Christ for how He has, is and will continue to work in my life.  I know that He will answer, and that all of this is a small part of His wonderful plan for my life.  It is so comforting to rest in the refuge of His love and to have assurance in what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him.

Oh the depth and the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  Praise the Lord for His perfect work.

To an Audience of One,

Joshua