DOES GOD WANT YOU TO LEAVE YOUR JOB AND DO SOMETHING ELSE?

Several years ago I got really worried about "God's will for my life." I was (and still am) in the Navy and had to make some career decisions that would either set me up to get out of the Navy or help me continue to progress in my career. I agonized over this for a whole year, spent lots of hours praying, read books about it, and generally did everything I could to try to figure out what God wanted me to do. But I didn't hear anything. God had gone quiet...or at least, I couldn't hear him.

I talk to a lot of people who face these kinds of questions at some point (if not multiple times) in their careers. For some of us, our career progression doesn't happen like we thought it would. Maybe someone else got the promotion we thought we would get. Or we have to move somewhere we don't want to live. Some find it extremely difficult to fulfill our role as parents or spouses while also doing a good job in our careers. Whatever it is, we feel pulled one way or the other and can't help but question if we are doing what God wants.

There are many ways to approach this issue and as many different answers for each of our particular lives. But I finally got an answer for my story and I hope it helps you with yours. After that year of trying to figure out God's will for my life, something occurred to me. I remembered what originally brought me into the Navy.  I put a lot of prayer into my decision to join and God made it clear that I was on the right path. It occurred to me that since he led me to join, it is probably a safe bet to stay in the Navy until he leads me to something else. That may sound simplistic, but it really set my mind at ease. If God led me here, I should stay until I have a reason to leave.

This reminds me of the story of Joseph in the Bible. When he was a child, God revealed to him that he would be a ruler one day. God made this clear to him when he was young. But as Joseph got older, he ended up as a prisoner, slave, servant, prisoner again, and eventually...years later...one of the highest rulers in the land. I bet he often wondered if he had missed God's will for his life. All those years in prison would certainly make me doubt. But the story shows that he did not lose his faith. Even when life got really hard and the path to God's promise seemed impossible, Joseph still trusted God and humbled himself in obedience to him.

What about you? Do the circumstances in your life make you wonder if you are going the right direction or not? Do they make you doubt God or his purposes in your life? Is he leading you to make a career change? Or did he lead you to where you are and you question wondering if you are supposed to stay there or not?

When you wonder if you are missing God's will for your life take a minute to reflect on where you started, even if it was a long time ago. Where did he lead you? Have you departed from that path? Or do you need to trust him and keep going the way you are going even if the path you are on is unclear or seemingly impossible?

Each of us has a different story and a different path to walk.

But no matter where you are, it is always a dangerous but trustworthy thing to trust in the Lord.    

Written By: Jonathan N, May 9, 2016

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