God's Will

She sent me an email, this new, young teacher I hired last spring. I need to meet with you tomorrow. Hmmm. Sounds ominous. I replied to her email that I had a 10:00 meeting the next day. She could come at any other time. When I arrived at my office the next day, she apparently had been waiting for some time. In her lap were the teaching materials I had given her, as well as her keys, and an envelope. She wore a very serious expression. “I have terrible news.”

I ushered her into my office and shut the door. Before I made it around to my desk chair, she blurted out, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to take the job after all.” Reeling from the blow, I slowly lowered myself to my chair, my mind racing. From a distance I heard her say, “I know I’m putting you in a terrible position.” I looked up to see her eyes brimming with tears.

She was certainly right about that. I was so excited when I hired her. I sent a mail-out to all of the high school parents and students, inviting them to meet her and hear of the exciting plans we had for her courses. I tailored her course offerings to her certification and interests. I spent days on the phone talking to students, selling them on the new courses. School starts in about a month. We have finished all of the student’s schedules, and I have no other candidates for her position who have not already taken jobs elsewhere. I have no clue what I am going to do.

I tried to focus on what she was saying. “ …it wasn’t until this summer, when I began volunteering at my church full time, that I realized my heart was in ministry. I know of several churches that are looking for a full-time children’s minister. Ministry is where my heart is. It is what I feel I was called to do. If I came here, I know I would not be any good for these students, since my heart is elsewhere.” With this statement, she burst into tears.

There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to let her know just how unprofessional it is to break contract. I wanted her to know just how inconvenienced I was, how embarrassing it would be to call all of the students and their parents who had signed up for the courses I had talked them into, just to let them know we would not be offering them after all. I wanted her to have to sit and watch as the registrar and I would spend two days completely re-doing the schedules for all of the students who had signed up for her classes. But I could not say or do any of these things.

My heart went out to her. There I was, worried about what I was going to do. Concerned with how this would affect me and my students, when all along, this young Christian woman was earnestly trying to find God’s will for her life. Without a job, she was acting totally on faith. She paused, looking at me with the saddest eyes. She was obviously filled with pain because of the effect her decision might have on the school. I smiled wearily. “Clearly this is something you must do. I understand completely. I would not consider standing in the way of anyone trying to pursue God’s will for their life. Thank you for coming to see me as soon as you knew.”

She thanked me, handed me the envelope, which contained her letter of resignation, shook my hand vigorously, and left. I opened my Bible and searched for passages that addressed this very subject. Here are a few I found:

King David not only desired to do God’s will (Psalm 40:8), he asked God to teach him how to do His will, and prayed that the Spirit would lead him on level ground (Psalm 143:10).

Jesus often spoke of the importance of doing God’s will (Matthew 6:10, 7:21, 10:29, 12:50, 26:39, 26:42, John 6:38, 7:17).

Paul admonished the church in Ephesus not to be foolish, but to seek to understand God’s will (Ephesians 5:17).

John wrote that we can confidently approach God, and that if what we ask of Him is in accordance with his will we will have it (I John 5:14-15).

Can you share a time you did something because you felt it was God’s will?