And the Lord showed up!
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17
Most of you who have been reading these devotionals are aware of my need for a job and a number of you have told me that you’ve been praying for me about that. For that I have two things to say: a) thank you—you do not know how much it touches my heart that you would do that for me and b) your prayers worked—I have a new job lined up! It is within USAA and I officially start on January 17, though I’ve already attended some meetings to try to hit the ground running at that time.
Almost three weeks ago I was sitting in a Zoom meeting with some of my friends from Emmaus bemoaning the fact that I had to search for a new job, while planning the menu and party theme for my very own pity party. One of the ladies declared that there would come a day, soon, in which we would all be celebrating my new job and it would be abundantly clear that the Lord was in it all. While I agreed with her, I admit that I didn’t think it would happen so soon! (it was the very next day that the Holy Spirit changed my thinking and helped me realize that these events were helping me grow and not stumble). Here’s how this went down: the week of December 1, there was a job posted at USAA in an area I had supported before, in a Design role. The job was for a Senior program manager, modernizing the technical stack that area used for the users to do their job. I met with the hiring manager, as we had worked together, to find out more about the job. I applied for the job on December 7th, had a job interview via Zoom the morning of December 14, a second-round interview with two executives on December 15th, and by December 17th, I had a job offer, at a Lead level (instead of a Senior) and a small bump in pay. I did not expect the pay increase, nor did I expect that they would offer me a Lead position right off the bat. You could have knocked me over with a feather at how quickly and smoothly everything went—it was abundantly clear that this was the Lord’s hand at work. I shared this news with my friends at our Zoom meeting-exactly two weeks to the day that my friend made her declaration. God is good—all the time!! All the time—God is good!
As I was praying the next day, praising and thanking the Lord for His abundant blessing, it made me think of all the times in which people shared stories about how the Lord worked in their lives in a big way—miracles surrounding healing, marriages and families being restored, wayward lives turning around, and other testimonies too numerous to list here. Sometimes it seems that as the story is told, depending on the point of view, that all would be lost if the Lord had not shown up, and that He does so in a really big way. And some times that is truly the case—to demonstrate to all who would believe that the event that just happened whose outcome was so improbable that it can only be attributed to Him (like how He handled the dueling prophets of Baal and Elijah at Mount Carmel). My situation was not that drastic or severe—I knew that the Lord had me and that I merely needed to trust Him. And it’s not like the Lord had to “show up”—I knew that He was with me the entire time, despite the grandiose pity party shindig I was throwing for myself. But the result was still the same—when I truly started to view this latest challenge for the positive thing that it was, changing my focus from Self to Him—He provided, and in a way that can only be attributed to Him. To God be all the glory!
In just a few days, we will celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Our Redeemer stepped out of heaven and came to earth in the most humble and meager way—a baby, born in a stable. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” And the Lord showed up! The second Person of the Godhead was fully God and became fully Man, walked among us, faced the same things that we face but knew no sin. In His death, He reconciled us sinners to the righteous and Almighty God, enabling us to be children of God. This being the Christmas season, we rejoice in His birth, all the while realizing that the most precious gift we received was through His death. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Everlasting life, my beloved friends!
If you are reading this and thinking that although you’ve heard the gospel story time and time again, you are unsure if you truly understand its impact, and would like to know more about this indescribably exquisite gift, please reach out to me—I would be delighted to share more about it.
PRs: Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Prayers for:
Travel mercies for those traveling this Christmas time
The lost sheep and prodigals to return
Peace and unity for the church, country, and world
Praise Reports
My new job!
Mark Hardison’s journey of health and healing reports
His blessings on Stone Oak Church
May God’s abundant peace and joy fill your hearts as we celebrate Christmas, despite the challenges that politics, weather, and a health crisis may bring. Know that you are loved!
Quotes
“A thousand times in history a baby has become a king, but only once in history did a King become a baby.”
“The birth of Christ brought God to man; the cross of Christ brought man to God.”