This week I am writing a three part blog on finding the will of God in different situations. I have already dealt with looking to God’s Word as the principle way to find God’s will in our lives. Today and on Friday I will deal with finding God’s will in two situations that affect everyone at some stage in their lives.
When To Quit My Job?
How many times have you thought over your career, “I wish I could quit my job”? Most of the time we do not do it because we need the pay check, or we actually like our job overall or we have too much investment in our employers retirement fund. However, there are times when we are serious about quitting our job but we ask the dreaded question, “is it God’s will for me to quit my job”.
All in all I believe God wants us to be happy. If our job is causing you to be depressed, causing health problems, or affecting your family life in unhealthy ways, then I believe you do not even have to ask the ‘God’s will” question. However, for others it is not so clear cut, so I want to give you an example from my life that may help. Firstly, there is a difference when it comes to ministry jobs and secular jobs. For some reason I think people find it much easier to decide what God’s will is if they are in a secular job. I worked in a few different secular positions and found the decision to move on a whole lot easier than in ministry roles. I do believe though the principles are still the same.
In January 2007 my wife Raquel and I decided to resign our positions at North Point Church in Springfield, MO. North Point had grown at an incredible pace (today I believe there are over 3,500 in attendance each week), we were doing some pretty unique stuff and the church was getting a name for itself. Furthermore, Raquel had been there from the very beginning. She lived and breathed North Point and we both had seen God do some impossible things. However, our decision to resign came as a shock to many in the church and people did not understand why. People thought either something was wrong with the church or we had lost our minds. However, we had prayed about this decision for over four months. Raquel had in fact told me a year before that she believed her time was up and God was moving us on.
In the September of 2006 we went to pray for three days in regards to this decision. After three days we felt God telling us that our time was not up yet. In December 2006 we went to India in a ministry trip and it was there that God spoke to both of us to say now was the time. So when we came back we handed in our resignations, not having any other employment opportunities in the pipeline. My US visa allowed me to work at North Point only and so on the surface it looked like we had lost our mind.
The reasons we felt our time was up at North Point was because the church was heading in a different direction to where they had been. We thought it was a great direction, but it was not a journey we could go on and give 100%. Our beliefs and values were not in that direction. We knew if we stayed it would be a restriction to the church and to our own lives. This was not to say they were wrong, but just to say this was the moment our journey’s went in two different ways.
This was the first reason we knew our decision was in the will of God. If you are in a ministry, church, organization or even employment and you cannot give the leaders, members and vision your 100% backing, it is time to start to think of another place to be. The second reason we knew we were in the will of God was because we just knew. I cannot explain it in words, but when you know something is right, it often is. We gave up a good salary, a visa, future recognition and a comfortable life because we just knew it was the right decision. Before we made the decision to leave we had no peace, after we made the decision we had a peace about the whole situation that I can only describe as divine. In Philippians 4:7 we are told that those who rely on God have a peace which no-one can understand which guards our hearts and mind through Jesus Christ. This is exactly what happened to us.
There have been many times when the peace of God has come into a situation that goes beyond understanding. So before you make any rash decision, before you ask the question, “what is the will of God?” Ask yourself if you have peace. Not a lack of noise, but a peace that is deep within that goes beyond understanding, a peace that others will question and a peace that puts your mind at ease when you lay your head on your pillow at night.
