Have you ever been given an amazing opportunity and thought, “Oh my gosh, this is a total God thing”? It’s like it just falls into your lap and it’s almost too good to be true. Well to be transparent… I recently had an experience like this, and it’s taking me a lot of courage to even type it out, so please bear with me.
As of today, I have less than two weeks left with Cru on campus, and I have no idea what I’m doing next year. So, I sang in a wedding in February and ran into a friend from college who works at Google. We joked around about me coming to work with her but it didn’t seem like a realistic goal, so I didn’t get my hopes up. About a month later, I received two texts from both her and another friend who works there; they were hiring for a position I was told I would be perfect for! I worked for hours on my resume, had them read it over for me, and sent it in for review. Two days later, I saw an email from Google (PANIC) that would ask me for my interview availability over the next week. Two days after filling out the form, I noticed a second email from Google in response to my availability. After reading the first line I decided not to continue until later that day, so all I got at first was, “The hiring team carefully reviewed your background and experience, and will not be moving forward with your candidacy at this time.”
All I could comprehend in my mind was, I was given an amazing, prestigious opportunity and for some reason God took it away. I wasn’t angry with God, but I was confused; why would He allow me to get excited over this, but slam the door abruptly? But as if He knew me so well in that moment, His Spirit led me to think, Thank you, God, for seeing my pride and arrogance and taking this job away from me; this honestly feels terrible, but I believe You have something better.
For a week I went back and forth, between gratitude and frustration, understanding and hopelessness. I was totally tempted to think God was shaking His head somewhere, disappointed in how I so easily became caught up in the Google bus and free food ALL THE TIME and benefits and a good resume builder and a good salary, rather than how I could have been used to love potential coworkers. Or maybe He was smirking and saying, “Here you go… JK you cannot has,” while He expected me to respond with, “LOL good one, God.”
Now that I come to think of it… There have been plenty of times in my life (I didn’t get the job at Google, I haven’t gotten all my wedding pictures and it’s 6 months later, that guy in junior high never texted me back, etc.) when I wanted to avoid dealing with the frustrations of life, and I hypothetically considered moving to an island where I’d know no one and I could sell coconut water for a living. And yet… the end of the world never came like I thought it would.
Here is the concrete truth: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
In all things. In ALL things. But what if every plan falls through? What if every dream is denied? What if every time I get my hopes up, it doesn’t work out? Legitimate concerns; however, I will rebut this “but” with, what if every moment is a God thing? What if God actually is who He claims to be in Scripture, and He does have the power to make EVERYTHING work together for His good and wonderful purpose, and He will remain faithful until the day we are brought face-to-face with Him?
If this is true, this changes the way I view my entire life. It must. Because it is no longer about God fitting into my goals and life plan; no, it is about me fitting into God’s plan. It is about God and His glory being revealed and magnified to the ends of the earth.
I cannot predict where God will lead me, nor can I tell Him what to do. But I know with confidence that He is omniscient and completely in control. I believe that every time the sun sets, He has something greater on the horizon.