Faith on Purpose
One of my absolute favorite scriptures is Hebrews 11:1, which states, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” This scripture gives me the authority to believe in more than what I see right in front of me. Building faith is a discipline and life has shown me that having faith during tough situations isn’t always easy. I’ve certainly had my share of experiences that developed my faith but one unique experience is when I moved to Washington, D.C. years ago. I will never forget that time in my life because my faith in God was tested like never before.
With much joy and anticipation, I had accepted a job on the east coast. It was an answered prayer to live in another city for the very first time and it was also a promotion, so I was excited for this new beginning. On my first day of work I knew something was off with my new team. Let’s just day leadership was questionable and morale was low for many reasons. During that time in my life, I really questioned God. I asked Him why would He would give me a promotion in another state knowing full well what was waiting for me. Isn’t it funny how we will pray and ask God for something and expect it to come perfectly packaged with no trials or struggles associated with it? Somehow the same faith I had when I was praying for the job went right out the window when I was met with all kinds of challenges. Here it was I had left a job I loved and was good at for one that would test my patience, my attitude, and my faith, all while hours away from everyone and everything I was familiar with.
For the first few months I tried to find joy in the simple things. I decorated my apartment. I explored as much as my mood allowed me to. Frankly, I dreaded going to work and with each passing work day I felt more and more stuck. As other people joined the team and eventually left, I was still there and trying to figure out my next move. After months of not really feeling like myself and becoming more and more fed up, I was reminded that God would never set me up for failure. The same God who gave me the job hadn’t left me and instead of trusting in His plans for my life, it’s almost as if I was missing whatever lessons He intended for me to learn during that season. It wasn’t the perfect situation but it was an opportunity that God gave me. I prayed for this opportunity! Instead of trying to run from the situation, I needed to choose faith while I was in the situation. I truly believe that it wasn’t my prayers, but the prayers of my parents that led to this epiphany.
Once I finally decided to stop “fighting” the process, my perspective slowly changed. I still struggled with understanding why God took me all the way to D.C. but I came to the realization that God was still for me. I started spending more time with God and found a church. I spent a lot of time by myself and that really allowed me to figure out who I was and evaluate past decisions. To be very honest I probably would be associated with people who were never good for me (or my heart) had I not had that time for myself. There was also a shift from praying that God would provide an escape route to trusting and believing that I was there for a reason. I started asking God to give me the strength and wisdom to handle anything that came my way. I still wanted to move back home or at least closer to home, but I redirected my focus towards being content with my current situation.
Transitioning from a place of doubt and desperation to a place of peace and contentment didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t just wake up one morning in a good mood. My parents prayed for me when I was too pissed to pray for myself. When I came to my own senses, I started connecting to God again. I started speaking out loud that my steps were ordered and that even if I did’t understand what God was up to, I needed to trust Him.
Well, this journey of learning to have faith on purpose was over the course of a year and half. I went from being mad at God to understanding that having faith requires intentionally seeking Him and trusting that His plans are better than my own. There were days I felt like literally quitting my job and just moving home. There were times when I thought God had forgotten about me, but He never did.
The last six months of my time living on the east coast God put certain people in my path that saw potential in me. These people encouraged me when they didn’t even know what was going on in my head. I’m thankful for them and even more thankful that through them, things started to change for me. Not only did I get a new job, but I moved to Austin, Texas, which is just a few hours from home. Now, this isn’t about getting what I wanted. Life has taught me that God will often delay answering our prayers to teach us some patience and to develop our faith. Sometimes we won’t get what we’ve prayed for but the way I see it, that’s just God protecting us in ways we will never fully understand.
I wish I could tell you that since this experience, my faith has never wavered, but I can’t. Faith is one of those things we have to continuously work on and build. If we stay ready, we don’t have to get ready, so it’s important that we make time for God daily. If you are struggling to understand where you are in life, stay close to God. If you feel as though God doesn’t hear your prayers, the Bible says to pray without ceasing. Don’t let up because when we do, that’s when doubt, anxiety, and fear can creep in and take over. What I know is that we have to be intentional about reading the word for ourselves and praying about whatever is going on in our lives. Faith on purpose is holding on to hope and believing for things others might deem crazy. Let’s take our focus off what we see with our eyes and start seeing things through a faith perspective.
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