In "other" Words - Steadfast Faith

Today is Tuesday's In Other Words and I have selected the following quote.  Would love to read your posts!

"God is not concerned about what is around the corner.  He created the corner."

~Anonymous~

My husband Bobby and I have been in ministry for thirty-one years. My husband has been in several staff positions and has pastored two churches. We have co-pastored for the past 16 1/2 years.When he accepted his second staff position we were living in Hagerstown, MD. At that time I held a position as Marketing/Business Development Director in a local bank and had been working in the financial industry for over ten years. My husband's position required us to relocate to Springfield, VA.

The cost of living in the metropolitan area at that time was very expensive. I found a position in a bank but was required to commute one hour and 15 minutes one way each day to work. Our children were enrolled in the private academy at the church and my hubby took them back and forth to school each day. Often times I would not arrive home until after 7 p.m. because of my responsibilities at my job and the dreaded commute. Needless to say my involvement in our ministry and church was very limited.

At that time women were just beginning to climb the corporate ladder in the corporate world. After my second year of employment with this organization I received a promotion to Vice President of Marketing/Business Development and received a substantial raise. My career was very important to me during those years. I admit God wasn't the first priority in my life even though I was a pastor's wife. That subject is for another time and another blog.

During the third year of my position at this bank God orchestrated an incredible makeover in my heart. A position opened at the academy within the church Bobby was working at as an associate pastor. For some strange reason this job looked extremely appealing to me and I couldn't stop thinking about applying for the position. I had no idea what was around the corner for my life but I knew that I was serving a big God who loved me and wanted the best for my family and I. One thing led to another and I decided to apply for the position and was offered the job. I met with the CEO of the bank and submitted my resignation. I began my employment at the academy two weeks later taking more than a $20,000 cut in my annual salary.

Two years after that transition my husband accepted a position as a full-time pastor in a rural community which seemed like zillions of miles away from civilization! It was quite an adjustment for our entire family but God was so good to us during that tenure of our ministry. We took another huge blow to our income since I was not working outside of the home. I became the youth pastor during our tenure which was an unpaid position. There were weeks when we only had dollars to make it from Monday to Sunday but somehow, someway, God always came through for us. We remained faithful to Him and He continued to bless our ministry in an awesome way. We had no idea what was around the corner of our ministry but we learned to trust God during those difficult years as our faith continued to grow and mature. Five and a half years later we were called to a church in Virginia where we have been ministering for thirteen years. God continues to bless our ministry.

Abraham's faith was tested by difficulties (Genesis 12:10) but he continued to trust God.  Paul lost his possessions but not his faith (2 Tim. 1:12). God's provision is as large as our faith.  We need to be cautious of limiting God's blessings by a lack of faith and obedience.  God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

If God calls us to a work He will certainly supply the need and equip us to accomplish the task. Maybe not all the luxuries we have been accustomed to but He will supply our needs. Even though we are not able to see with our human eyes around every corner in our life we must learn to trust God enough with the corner to become obedient when he calls us to do something we never imagined.

Our ministry as Christians is all about trust and faith in a mighty and powerful God. We must learn to trust God with the corners in our lives because He created those corners as tools so that we would grow and mature in Him. It isn't about what we want. It is all about His will, His call upon our lives and His purpose for us.

God will help us remain true to our faith through whatever difficult times we must face.  The most important step in our faith is getting to know Christ better each day.  Growing our relationship with the Lord will build the steadfast faith that we need when we are facing trials and struggles.  No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, no matter how mature we are in our faith, the sinful world always will challenge our faith.  We always have room for growth.  If every day we find some way to draw closer to Christ, we will be prepared to stand for truth in any and all circumstances.  We will also learn to trust God more and more with the corners when we cannot see what lies ahead.

Blessings to you!