Jehovah Jireh lives up to His name and continues to provide for His children. Though often it is not in the way we expect or hope, the challenge is for us to still see his provision and care.
Hear from Mrs Annalee Gray Brown about how God provided for her:
The Lord provides in His good time. I know this to be true although I have often questioned Him. About five years ago, I got a job opportunity that I really wanted. I remember enjoying the job: the presentations, the analysis, the networking and building of relationships, the opportunity to provide technical feedback and the opportunity to train and support a wonderful group of people. I feel that I truly got to impact people’s lives! After a few years though, the work environment had gone through progressive changes which reduced the scope of my responsibilities and I started to feel discouraged regarding my professional development, despite being thankful for my job.
Three years into my job, I had begun preparations for marriage and was in premarital counselling. In counselling, my desire for professional growth came up and I shared with the counsellor and my husband that I sensed that I had two more years remaining at the company. At that time, two years felt like too long a time to experience a sustained feeling of stagnation, so I hoped that if I understood the Lord correctly, then I would also grow in my responsibilities there. Well, two years later, my responsibilities had not grown in the way that I had hoped and I was growing frustrated. Also, my church had embarked on the theme, ‘Go Possess the Land’ for the church year and I kept feeling that I was being challenged to get started on some of my dreams but I felt that it would mean that I would need to leave the company, but if I did leave the company, I wanted to know that an adequate income was secure. By this time, I had accumulated significant debt and one of my goals for that year (2020) was to clear my credit card and at least pay up half of another loan that I had.
By 2020, the company was going through a transition which included restructuring. This restructuring led to my position and a few others being made redundant. I had the option to choose from other available positions or to accept a severance package. However, I did not find the other positions available to be attractive. I was surprised and disappointed but thankful and relieved. I was surprised and disappointed as I thought that my position was fairly well ingrained in the company’s strategy and although I had previously wondered if my position was secure, I was no longer concerned about it. I was thankful because the Human Resources team were very supportive and provided career counselling through the Employee Assistance Programme and answered my many questions. The management team also allowed me to stay on long enough to adequately orient someone to manage some aspects of my role which would still continue in Jamaica. I was thankful for this opportunity. I was relieved because I would have enough funds to fully clear two of my loans. I was also relieved as I had just completed the last payment for my car loan the month before.
In the last two years of my job, I had gained friends, many of whom offered to support me with guidance in getting started on the dreams that I had shared with them and actually did so! All that they have had to offer has come together very well. When I reflect, l marvel at the many gifted people that are supporting me. I feel a sense of overwhelm at how God has blessed me through them. I definitely would not have been able to afford their guidance or services had they not offered. Added to this, my husband’s and my family members often bless us with food that we would not have even budgeted for even if we had our usual incomes.
I am now in the early stages of setting up my business, and with this COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to wonder if my business will do well; It is easy to expect only the worst when economies around us look shaky, but in all of the uncertainty, my husband and I are experiencing God’s goodness through how He has timed everything and provided. He literally meant two more years, I just did not anticipate his way of working it out! His way is so much better than I could have imagined.
Our testimonies are many and though we do not understand the ins and outs of the journey, we trust Him. We are experiencing Him working things out.
Respond:
- Meditate on these scriptures: Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11
- In what ways do you need the Lord to come through for you? Take those things to the Lord in prayer and lay it at His feet, fully trusting that He will hear you and attend to your needs.
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Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.